


Prophecy of the Sun

by Blueberrycat93



Category: Silverwing - Kenneth Oppel
Genre: Adventure, Gen, OC, self-instert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25224985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueberrycat93/pseuds/Blueberrycat93
Summary: After finally reaching their goal, Vanessa and her friends waste no time to jump straight into the next adventure. This time they're on their quest to find Shade's long-lost father Cassiel. Not knowing that it will lead them into danger, worse than what they are used to before.(Self-insert, Sequel to Promise of the Night)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Eavesdropping and whispering caves

It was a cold and clear night. The full moon was shining high in the sky. Its rays illuminating the forest floor through isolated gaps in the canopy of leaves. Lighting up the fur of a bat fluttering by. Though this was no ordinary northern bat. This one was much bigger with a fur that was not suitable for the local temperatures. It was much too short and too thin. No. This bat did not belong in the north, it belonged in the south, more precisely in the jungle.

And that's where Throbb was headed.

About two-and-a-half months ago, he and his cousin Goth got captured by humans and were taken away from their home country to this strange cold world. While they succeeded in escaping from their prison, their way home turned out to be harder than they thought.

To find their way in this new environment, Goth had the idea to find a bat that would show them the way south. Which worked. They had found a Silverwing pup called Shade, who was looking for his colony. He was accompanied by a Brightwing female named Marina and a human girl named Vanessa. That's right a human. A human shrunk to the size of a mouse, to be exact. Throbb had seen nothing like it before. He remembered how surprised he was when he first saw her.

With a huff, he shook his head. Those three. They'd brought them nothing but trouble.

If it had been up to him, they would have eaten them as soon as they could find their way south by themselves. But Goth had insisted on getting Shade to lead them to his colony.

However, Throbb had to admit that Goth's idea made sense. In Hibernaculum, they could have eaten an enormous amount of bats. Enough food for them to survive this cursed winter and fly home with renewed strength. But unfortunately, his plan didn't work. These two northern bats and their human friend had tricked them multiple times. With severe consequences.

''I told him we should have stayed in the cave,'' Throbb muttered to himself. But no, Goth just had to go after them during a thunderstorm.

Throbb couldn't see what was happening to Goth because he had been involved in a fight with a young owl named Orestes, who had befriended Shade and his friends, even though the birds were the bats' enemies. However, the last thing Throbb saw of his cousin, was him falling down a huge waterfall. He wanted to rush to his aid, but at that moment another flash of lightning lit up the sky and hit his wing. Filled with pain, he fled the scene.

But he was lucky. His wing was badly burned but still functional. Still, it would take a few days until he was fully healed. He also got some scratches on his body and face from his fight with Orestes. But even that was not very serious. He was much more worried about Goth.

After Throbb had waited some time for the pain to ease, he flew back to the waterfall and followed the river further downstream. He was flying for hours, but there was no life sign of Goth.

He spent most of the day looking for him and hardly slept. To make matters worse, he was getting awfully hungry. But there was no trace of potential prey anywhere.

''I hope I find food soon, or I’ll starve to death if I'm not frozen to death first.'' A shiver ran through his body and he shook himself. He couldn't wait to get back to the jungle. If he ever makes it back, that is.

''Hm?'' The sudden sound of flapping wings got him out of his thoughts. ''Goth?'' he asked into the wind, ''Is that you?'' No answer. Throbb decided to fly into the direction where he had heard the wing-beating. Two minutes later, he discovered its source.

It wasn't Goth. But Throbb was not disappointed. It was a Silverwing. Not Shade but an old female with grey fur and lots of fat on her ribs.

''Perfect,'' Throbb thought, licking his lips. Finally, something to eat.

He followed the Silverwing female through the forest until he found the perfect moment to strike. There. Now. The female flew towards me in a tree and hung upside down from one of the lower branches. Throbb landed a few branches higher and crouched down. Quickly, he checked that his scent wasn't being blown to her by the wind. Then he stalked the unsuspecting bat and flinched back as two owls appeared. Well hidden behind twigs and leaves he watched as a large owl with brown plumage settled on a snow-covered branch opposite the silver wing. Throbb thought he resembled Orestes. Were the two perhaps related to each other? The other owl, with a long thin mustache on his beak, settled on a branch behind him.

Throbb crouched even deeper into the thicket. He had no interest in being discovered and wondered if it would be best to leave now.

''General Brutus, how good to see you.''

Throbb saw how the owl general stared down grimly at the old Silverwing female. ''Bathsheba. I hope for your sake you have a good reason for coming to see me.''

''Why, certainly,'' Bathsheba replied. ''I don't wish to claim your patience for too long. I'm merely here to give you some news that may be of interest to you.''

Brutus didn't seem convinced. ''The only thing that interests me is the whereabouts of your colony, Silverwing. So don't waste my time with nonsense.''

''Of course not. But what I have to tell you also involve your son.''

Now she got the owl's attention. ''What did you say?'' he asked.

''You heard right'', said Bathsheba, ''Yesterday, Shade entered Hibernaculum with that human brat Vanessa, a Brightwing and your son. They even claimed he was their friend.''

Throbb thought Brutus looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of his head. That's how far he'd ripped them open.

''My only son … in league with the Silverwings?!'' his voice boomed with anger at this news. ''If you are lying … you've drawn your last breath, bat!''  
  
Bathsheba just smirked. ''It's a deal. Give me what I want, and I'll deliver the traitors…''

''Huh?'' Throbb didn’t understand a thing. Why would this Silverwing betray someone from her own colony? Although he still thought it would be best to get away as quickly as possible. He still sat on his branch. Because now a pack of wolves appeared and he wanted to know what they were doing here.

''Good evening Brutus,'' said the alpha with a grin, ''I see you owls have caught one of those murderous Silverwings.''

''Bathsheba has come here on her own free will with important information.''

She nodded. ''Indeed. To find my colony you must follow the river upstream to the waterfall. There, on a rock above the waterfall, is the entrance to the Hibernaculum.

''¿Qué?'' For a second it looked as if the they had heard him. So he quickly went quiet again tried and continued to watch the strange meeting.

"So, so Hibernaculum is behind the waterfall?! Mmh clever." the alpha purred growling.

"No thanks to you wolf, without Bathsheba we wouldn't have found it at all." Brutus replied. The wolf just growled before glancing at Bathsheba with a cruel smile. "What is betraying your own species worth these days?" He asked moving a bit closer. Bathsheba backed away with a gasp. Then glared back at him.

"I seek only to restore order to this forest." she said.

"Oh of course you do." The alpha wolf chuckled.

''We fly to Hibernaculum immediately'', Brutus declared and turned to the owl behind him. ''Atlas inform all lieutenants.''

''Um, Is that a good idea, sir?'' he asked. ''Invading the winter roost of any species, especially during wintertime is a serious violation against the law. Perhaps it would be better to inform the King about this.''

Brutus pondered. He didn't look too enthusiastic about it. But then he agreed. ''Very well. Send a messenger to King Boreal. We'll wait for his reply and attack afterward.'' Atlas nodded and flew off.

Throbb had heard enough. He had noticed the alpha wolf looking curiously at the web of branches he was hiding on. If he stayed here any longer, they would surely discover him. The next time the wolf turned around Throbb used the moment to fly away as quietly as he could.

* * *

Once he was sure he had left the meeting far behind him, Throbb landed at the ground of a small clearing and thought about what he just heard.

Hibernaculum was behind the waterfall. Behind the waterfall! The same waterfall where they had fought those northern bats and their friends. The same one Goth had fallen down from. Throbb could not believe how close they had been to their goal. With a frustrated growl he rubbed his hands across his face. "I can't believe it. We were so close... so close.'' He wondered whether he should fly upriver and go to Hibernaculum now that he knew where it was. But he decided against it. He thought it would be better to turn his back to the north and make his way home.

He had been away far too long. Throbb couldn't wait to be back among his own kind and surrounded by the familiar scents of the jungle. It warmed his heart when he thought how happy his parents, especially his mother, will be when they see him again. But then he remembered that he still had found no sign of life from Goth. Which meant that he had to tell the king and queen about the death of their only child.

Throbb knew that the royal couple had long hoped for a child of their own. So long that their relationship suffered from it. And now that Goth was most likely dead, it would break them apart for good. Goth’s mother was too old to bear more children and the king himself was not the youngest anymore either. To make it worse, his health was not at its best at the time Goth and Throbb were kidnapped. What if he had died?

Throbb gulped. If King Deimos was indeed no longer alive, who would then take the throne? With Goth no longer around, the crown would pass to the king’s brother. But Throbb knew that his father was not that young to be king for a long time either. Furthermore, he had never been very much interested in ruling. Which meant he would gladly hand the position over to his own son. In other words, to Throbb.

''Oh, Zotz'', he said ''What am I going to do? I can't possibly rule a kingdom. I... I'm not made for this.''

''Who in their right mind would crown you king?''

Throbb spun around and his eyes widened. Behind him, propped at the base of a tree, stood Goth. His body was covered in bruises and scars. His wings were torn, and the membrane blistered and stained. All in all, he looked worse than after what happened to him at the fire towers.

''Goth, you are alive!'' cried Throbb and wanted to hug his cousin. But stopped himself after noticing how he looked at him as if he wanted to tear him to shreds. ''Eh, is ... Is everything all right?'' he asked cautiously.

''If everything is all right?'' Goth let out a half-hearted laugh. ''Oh, of course. Everything's fine. After all, it happens every day that I almost drown and freeze to death.'' His eyes glittered with rage, and Throbb backed off a little.

''I...eh...I just wanted to...'' he started but Goth didn't let him finish.

''What? Declare me dead and fly home alone so you can take my place as future king?!''

''N-no I...''

"Let me clarify one thing...'' Goth moved closer to Throbb and stared down at him hatefully. Before Throbb could retreat any further, his cousin had already grabbed him by the throat and pulled him to his face. ''The day someone like you becomes king is the day I turn my back on Zotz. So you better forget about that right now. ¡¿Lo tienes?!''

Throbb nodded quickly, fearing Goth might do who knows what to him. Although he realized something was different. The grip on his neck was not as tight as usual. More like Goth was clinging to him instead of choking him. Als did he noticed how exhausted Goth looked. His breathing was heavy, and he was slightly shivering. In fact, if Goth wasn't so angry, he most likely would have collapsed right on the spot.

''Listen Goth,'' began Throbb and carefully pushed Goth's hand away from his throat. ''I can see that you're feeling... quite unwell at the moment.''

Goth snorted. ''I'm fine.''

Throbb knew he was lying, but said nothing. ''Well, maybe so, but I still think we'd better find shelter. Looks like it's going to be dawn soon.''

Goth replied nothing and looked up at the sky. It was true. The stars were already fading and the horizon glowed in the east. ''All right. Let's go.'' Goth spread his wings to fly. Immediately he flinched in pain and fell to his knees. Throbb wanted to help him but got almost bitten by Goth so he stayed away. In the air, the Vampyrum prince struggled hard to stay up. With every beat of his wings, he was hissing in pain. But he fought his way forward doggedly.

Throbb flew as close to his side as possible, to catch him in case he threatened to fall, even if his own wing hurt like hell.

After a while they found a crevice in a rocky hill and flew inside, totally worn out. With the help of their echo vision they realized that the cave was stretched out in a wide net, exposing numerous side passages. As they flew deeper and deeper, the two of them noticed to their amazement how the surrounding air became warmer and warmer until they were surrounded by delicious tropical heat. They realized that it was rising from holes in the stone floor as if it came from the depths of the earth.

While it seemed to be a natural roost for bats, the two of them couldn't find even a single one. But even though their stomachs were growling with hunger, they were not too disappointed for the warm air felt too good. It was almost as if they were already back home in their jungle. They kept on flying until Goth couldn't go on anymore and roosted on the nearest wall.

''We will stay here for the day'', he decided.

Throbb agreed and yawned. Afterward, he wondered if he should go out hunting, so they had something in their stomachs before going to sleep. But when he turned to Goth, he saw how he was already fast asleep. Throbb briefly considered whether he should fly out again, but his eyes were so heavy that he could hardly keep them open. Finally, with another yawn he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Shortly after Throbb fell asleep, Goth grew restless and growled and frowned in his sleep. Eventually, he woke up thinking he heard his name.

Believing it was Throbb, he turned to him in annoyance. But the other Vampyrum was sleeping peacefully. Goth blinked. Was Throbb talking in his sleep or did he just imagine hearing his name? With a quick shrug he wrapped himself back into his silky-smooth wings and tried to go back to sleep.

''Goth.''

Immediately, he was, glancing back at Throbb. Yet he was still asleep. Goth was sure that someone had whispered his name. But who else but Throbb could it have been?

''Goth.''

Goth froze. This time the voice had been louder, and he didn't have to watch Throbb to know that it wasn't his voice who spoke to him.

''Who's there?'' he asked in the room but got no answer. His heart was pounding in his chest. He sent out a wave of sound, but the echo only reflected the silvery image of the empty cave walls. Was he so sick that he began to hear voices that weren't even there?

''Where are you going?'' the voice asked him.

''Home,'' replied Goth, searching around. The words seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. And yet he felt that there was someone else in the cave beside him and Throbb.

Sound images painted themselves on the walls and ceiling like moving hieroglyphics: a jaguar, a feathered snake, and a pair of dark eyes without pupils.

Hesitantly he gave in. "C-cama Zotz," he said.

"Correct.''

Goth had felt as if the owner of the voice was grinning at him. Still saw no sign of him except the hieroglyphics on the walls. Could it really be that his god was speaking to him or was it just a dream?

"Be assured Goth, this is no dream.''

''W-what do you want from me, oh great Zotz?''

"'The question is rather what do you want from me?''

"What do I want?" Goth was confused.

''That's right,'' said Zotz. ''You say you're on your way home. But is that really what you want, or is there some unfinished business to settle?''

Unfinished business? What did he mean by that?

"I... I don't understand?''

"Well, perhaps this will jog your memory.''

Pictures flashed through Goth's mind. A runty Silverwing and a human girl, shrunken to mouse-size. Shade and Vanessa. He growled. Why did Zotz show him that?

"I can feel your heart yearning for vengeance, Goth. Yet you claim to want to leave this place.''

"My lord. These two and their companions have blasphemed you. They must be punished. However...'', he stopped short, ''with my present physical condition, I am hardly able to fly.''

''In other words... You are asking me to cure you and thereby save you from death once again.''

Goth nodded slowly. "Yes, sir.''

''Very well,'' said Zotz after a quick break. "That can be arranged. I'll even help you with your revenge. But you must do exactly what I say.''

''I'll do anything.''

''I know.'' Again the air whirled around him and the image of a human building in the middle of the forest painted itself into his head. "Go there. It's a few wing beats to the north of here. If you leave after sunset, you should get there before dawn.''

Now Goth understood nothing. Why would his god send him there? He had just escaped from a similar building a few weeks ago.

"But...''

"Are you questioning me Goth?" Zotz sounded angry, causing Goth to shudder and shake his head.

"N-no, sir. I just... don't understand why you're sending me there. The Humans are our enemies. Why do I need to go to one of their places?''

"Because it's important Goth. Only if you go there you will finally return home and get your revenge. And you'll be king.''

King? Goth wanted to ask what Zotz meant by this, but his gods presence had already disappeared. He wondered if he'd just imagined it all. Still, it seemed too real for him to be just a simple dream. However, the fatigue drew Goth back to the land of dreams before he could think about it any further.

* * *

The next evening, Goth was the first to wake up and notice something different from himself.

All of his wounds were gone, including the ones he got from the electric shocks at the power station. They had fully healed, leaving no scars. Also his crimson hair had regained its original fullness and length. However, it looked shaggy and in need of a good grooming session. But that could wait. Much more important now was to follow his God's orders and fly to this human building. Though it was still a mystery to Goth why.

Meanwhile Throbb was also waking up and yawned while stretching his wings wildly.

''Watch it'', growled Goth and roughly pushed him away.

''Oh, perdón''. Throbb rubbed the last bits of sleep out of his eyes and looked around. ''Is it evening already?'' he asked.

''Of course,'' Goth replied curtly, and let go from his resting place. Throbb wanted to say something, but Goth was already on his way out.

''Wait'', Throbb said as he caught up with him. ''Don't you think it might be better if you stayed inside and rest? You know, your injuries, they're... healed?’’ Throbb blinked, looking closer at Goth. ''But... how is this possible? Your wings... How?''

Goth laughed with amusement at Throbb’s bewildered expression. ''Amazing, isn't it?" He flexed his arms and looked pleased at his strong and healthy muscles. ''Believe it or not... It was Cama Zotz. He himself had spoken to me and healed my wounds.''

''But I thought only our high priest is capable of communicating with our god'', said Throbb.

''Do you call me a liar?''

''N-no ... but.''

Goth's eyes narrowed to slits. ''Be assured. I’m speaking the truth. Zotz did speak to me and healed me just like ... you?!'' He paused. Only now did he realize that Throbb's wounds had healed as well. This could only have been the work of Zotz. But why?

''Huh?'' Throbb looked down on himself and realized that Goth was right. The scratches on his body plus the nasty gash in his wing were gone. ''What ... How?''

Goth was speechless. He stared at Throbb not knowing if he should be confused or just angry. Why on earth had Zotz healed Throbb as well? He wasn’t as loyal to their god as he was. So why? Whatever the reason was, Goth knew he would find it out eventually. Though for now he had more important things to do. ''Come on now.''

''Wait, Goth Home is that way.''

The Vampyrum prince stopped in mid-flight and looked over his shoulder in the direction Throbb was pointing. South. The road to his home. To the jungle. To his kin. Something tore at his heart and pulled him towards there. But then the words of his god came back to his mind, and he shook his head. ''We have to go this way. It's Zotz will.''

''I thought we were going home?''

''If we do what Zotz says, we'll get home soon enough'', Goth said. ''Or do you want to defy the will of your god?''

''No, no, of course not,'' Throbb hastily replied and backed off as Goth approached him with a threatening glare in his eyes.

''Then what?''

''I just wonder why Zotz doesn’t want us to take the direct route home.''

''Then go that way if you insist. But I will do what Zotz told me to do.'' Goth was getting tired of discussing with Throbb. This was a waste of time. ''You can either come with me or not. Your choice.''And with that, he flew off and didn’t look back at him again.

Throbb looked after him with concern. Then he threw a wavering glance to the south. Sighed and eventually followed his cousin, hoping he knew what he was doing.


	2. Start into a new adventure

_(Three weeks later)_

''You sure it isn't too cold for you?'' I heard Icarus asking me for the dozenth time.

''I'm fine,'' I replied, though the arctic wind was giving me goosebumps. With one hand I tightened my grip on my cloak while holding on to Icarus neck fur with the other.

We were almost the entire night on our way to a building in the middle of the forest, hoping to find Shade's father Cassiel. Until a few weeks ago, the young Silverwing thought his father had died before he was even born. But then it turned out, he had just disappeared last spring. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that Cassiel was alive. But since the possibility existed, Shade had to go looking for him.

However, he wasn't alone in this. More than a dozen other bats accompanied him, including a young owl and I. Though other than the others, I wasn't an animal. I was a human. I know it may sound crazy, but it's the truth. About six weeks ago, I found a mysterious blue pearl, in the middle of the forest and got shrunk to the size of a mouse.

Without help, I probably would have died within a few days. But luckily I made the acquaintance of Shade and his colony. Made friends with him Marina and Orestes and went on the most spectacular adventure of my life.

Never would I have thought that two bats and an owl would become my best friends. However, unlike Shade, Marina was not a Silverwing. She was a Brightwing with a thicker light fur, narrow wings, and small shell-shaped ears. She got exiled from her own colony because of a silver band on her left forearm. But eventually, she found a new home with the Silverwings.

And as our friend, obviously was on this trip as well and so were Chinook, Breeze, and Todd. When I first met these three, Chinook had been a real bully. He harassed Shade whenever he had the chance and acted like he was the king of the forest. Since we arrived at the Hibernaculum, however, Chinook had changed. He still pulled a few tricks on Shade now and then, like throwing a snowball at his neck. But that was harmless. He no longer called him a runt like he used to before, but addressed Shade by his name and was also much friendlier towards me too.

Especially friendly was he towards Marina. It was impossible to overlook that he had taken an interest in the Brightwing female right from the start. He hung around with her almost constantly. Flew next to her all the time and even slept near her during the day. Marina didn't seem to mind all that. On the contrary. She enjoyed Chinook's attention. Shade, however, didn't like it that much.

Whenever he saw Marina talking happily with Chinook, he would give them both envious stares.

I could already imagine what kind of drama this would turn into. At the same time, I didn't want to get involved in it. No, thank you! I had my own problems. I had a broken leg, which had healed a bit, but still wasn't resilient. Plus a deep wound on my left wrist, which became infected but healed by now.

I owed both things to Goth, a cannibal bat from the south, who got captured by other humans and taken to the north. He had tried to kill me and my friends and wanted to get into the Hibernaculum to feed on the Silverwing colony during the winter. Luckily we managed to get rid of him and his cousin Throbb. But thanks to those two we now have a possible war with the owls on our hands.

And then there was something else. Something I could not believe I forgot. How nice of my body to remind me, by giving me it's traditional monthly greeting at the most inopportune time possible!

Gosh, what an embarrassment that was. I would have loved it if the others hadn't noticed anything. But they did. And that only because I couldn't really get anywhere without help thanks to my leg.

Mercury literally panicked. He thought I'd caught some terrible disease or something. Though after a lot of explanations I managed to calm the situation and everyone else down.

"And this happens every month?" Marina had asked me and, after I confirmed it, looked at me in a way I was sure she never wanted to become a human. Not that she ever wanted to become one at all. It's just that a banded bat in the mountains called Scirocco had claimed that all bats who got banded by humans would one day become humans themselves. What Nonsense! However, Scirocco would never live to see it becoming true anyway because he was dead.

Another thing on Goth's dime.

I shuddered and thought I would never forget that sinister giant bat and his cousin Throbb. They still haunted me in my dreams. Goth then pressed me to the ground and I could feel his weight resting heavily on my chest, could smell his hot breath on my face. Then Goth would bend his head down to me and whisper things into my ear, terrible things I didn't remember after waking up.

Which I was grateful for.

We had no idea what had happened to Throbb, only that he had fled into the forest after a fight with Orestes and Marina. Goth, however, had probably drowned. At least I hoped he did. With concern, I looked at the scar on my arm left by Goth's teeth. I still remembered the dreadful pain and all that blood. The mere thought of him nearly biting my hand off made me nauseous.

''Now it isn't far anymore'', Icarus suddenly said, distracting me from my thoughts. ''We should be crossing grassland soon and then it's only an hour flight. At least that's what Cassiel said.''

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shade prick up his ears at the mention of his father. He didn't know much about him. Except that he, like many other bats, got banded by humans and that he longed to know what it all meant. He must have believed that he would get the answer at the building we were heading to and Shade was sure that he would finally find him there, the father he had never known.

To be honest, I was also quite excited to meet Cassiel. I wondered what he looked like and what his character was. And I also wondered what he might think of me. A human in the size of a mouse.

 _''Bet he never saw something like that before''_ , I thought and chuckled softly, imagining his reaction.

Suddenly Frieda, the chief elder of the Silverwings, stretched out her wing in alarm, and immediately we all rushed to the closest tree.

As soon as we landed Icarus pushed me close to the tree trunk and asked me not to make a sound. Wondering what was going on I cowered as deeply as possible on the branch, trying to ignore the freezing snow on top of it. Fearfully I looked around and eventually spotted four owls on a tree not ten meters away from us. With their white and grey-brown speckled plumage, the owls were so well camouflaged between the snowy branches that they were barely visible to the naked eye.

The hood of my white cloak pulled deep into my face, I hoped I was camouflaged well enough to pass as a simple clump of snow, while the bats scattered on the other branches pretending to be icicles.

''Do you know who they are, Orestes?'' I heard Shade questioning nearby.

''Sadly, no. I have never seen these owls before.''

''I wonder what they are doing here,'' Marina said.

''I'll try to steer them away from here.''

''Be careful,'' she called out to him softly. Soon after, I watched how our feathered friend flew over to the owls in an arc. He gave a short hoot, getting their attention.

''Welcome'', Orestes greeted the owls which flew over to him and responded the greeting with a brief nod. Together they landed on a dead tree trunk at the foot of our tree.

''We are messengers of King Boreal'', one of the said. ''We come with an urgent message for General Brutus.''

Being as still as possible I tried to follow their conversation. The King? What did he want from the General? Probably nothing good. At least not for me or the Silverwings. If this was about an attack at Hibernaculum they would be helpless. Despite their large number.

Fortunately, the owls didn't know where the winter roost was. But in case they did find out, Frieda and the other elders had sent out messengers to find Ursa, the white Kermode bear. She should help them find an alternative save place for the winter and the owls.

Shade, Marina, and I had met Ursa on our journey and helped her become a true leader of the beasts. But because she was on our side, Brutus had exiled her to the eastern valley. Many of the forest animals went with her. Only the wolves joined Brutus in his feud against the Silverwings. Though their primary concern was food.

I frowned at the owls. This war between the birds and the bats only existed because Brutus believed the Silverwings were responsible for the death of owls and other birds. While in truth, it was Goth and Throbb who killed these animals. Unfortunately, Brutus refused to believe that giant cannibal bats existed. Although, having to admit, it did sound a little crazy. But I knew from personal experience that they were real. Besides, the Owl General's idea that small northern bats were more responsible for the murders than the existence of giant southern bats was far more idiotic in my opinion. He may be Orestes' father, but I still believed that Brutus was insane. After all, he was the one who ordered to burn down Tree-Heaven. The summer roost of the Silverwing females and their pups. Only because I and Shade had dared to take a peek at the sun. Something that was forbidden to all bats for thousands of years. Just because they had refused to take sides in the great war between the birds and the beats.

And there I thought my kind had issues.

''May I ask what this is about?'' Orestes asked.

The leader of the foreign owls looked at him bluntly. ''Definitely not'', he said. ''This message is reserved for the General only and must be brought to him urgently.''

''Eh, of course.''

Apparently, these owls had no idea they were speaking to the General's son. And perhaps it was better that way. At least Orestes didn't have to explain what he was doing here alone and instead told them where Brutus could be. Even though he had no idea where his father really was. He just directed them in a random direction. The owls thanked him formally and moved on.

Only when Frieda was sure that they were really gone, she allowed our small group to take back off into the air.

''That was close'', said Icarus and I nodded in agreement. At one point, one owl had peered in our direction. If Orestes had not promptly informed them of his father's possible whereabouts, we certainly would have been discovered.

Minutes later we broke out of the shelter of the trees and hovered over open grassland. I felt queasy. It was all so open that we gave away a much too easy target. Better we hurried a little. And as if Frieda thought the same, she encouraged the group to fly faster.

During the next fifteen minutes, no one spoke a word until Ariel turned to the elder with concern.

''What do you think that was about?'' she asked.

''I don't know, Ariel. ''But a message from the king is certainly not a good sign.''

Icarus snorted. ''For General Brutus, I'm sure it is.'' Then he got quiet, and I knew he was worried. Especially about his mate, Mercury. I couldn't blame him. I too found the idea that something may happen to him and the other Silverwings while we were away horrible. Mercury had been the first bat I'd ever met. He had saved my life and taken care of me during the time I had lived with the Silverwings before we set off on our journey to the Hibernaculum.

''Perhaps we should turn back,'' Hector said, but Frieda shook her head.

''There is nothing we can do against them,'' she replied. ''We'll just have to trust that your father and the other elders evacuated Hibernaculum before the Owls can invade.''

''Hopefully.''

''These bloodthirsty monsters!'' Icarus said, trembling with rage, ''The humans could help us fight them. Perhaps that is what the bands mean? Nocturna's Great Promise.''

I noticed him looking up at me as if to say I was the human he was talking about, or at least the bond between the bats and the rest of my kind. It made me uncomfortable. And it also reminded me of how Frieda had looked at me back in the echo chamber. She too had this hopeful glow in her eyes, as if I was the long-awaited chosen that would save them all. But I wasn't. I was just a simple human girl who had accidentally expressed a wish that brought me here. I could have wished for something else, like something to eat, a flashlight or even better the fastest way back to my hotel. But I didn't.

However, the more I thought about it, I wondered what would have happened if I had expressed a different wish. What if the pearl would have shrunk me, anyway? After all, what I wanted was to meet a real bat. But instead, that one of them appeared at my side, I got shrunk. Sure, I met the Silverwings later, but when I thought about it, I could just as well have met a family of mice instead and be now on a very different adventure with them.

Nevertheless, I was curious, what this great promise meant. But the thought that I of all people should play a major role in it. That was something I still refused to believe.

''If the owls wage war,'' said Hector, ''the humans may be our only hope. Cassiel must have known that. That's why he wanted to find this building.''

''If we get there,'' I heard Ariel cautiously asking, ''what will we find there?''

''What do you think, Shade?''

Noticing Frieda looking back over her shoulder I turned around on Icarus' back as well and noticed how he and Marina had caught up to us without being noticed.

''I was wondering when you would come to us,'' Ariel said with a lopsided smile.

''Come forward, you two,'' said Frieda, ''Cassiel is your father Shade, and we probably wouldn't be on this journey if it wasn't for you. Or you, Marina.''

I smiled happily as Orestes joined us as well after a while. It felt almost like our first adventure together. Just with more people now. My three friends smiled too, but then Shade noticed the troubled look on his mother's face.

''What's wrong?'' he asked.

''Nothing. I'm just wondering...What if Cassiel isn't here?''

Shade looked at his mother in shock. I knew that this dark thought must have also flashed through his mind from time to time, but he never spoke it out.

''He has to be there,'' he said, putting a lot of persuasion in his voice.

''I'm sure he is'', I replied, earning a grateful look from him. The truth was: I wasn't really sure about it, but I didn't want to destroy Shade's hope any further.

''We must be prepared for disappointment,'' said Frieda. ''But let us hope for the best.''

Shade opened his mouth to say something. But then stopped himself and turned his face to the right pricking up his ears.

''Did you hear that?'' he asked.

''Hear what?'' Orestes looked around searching.

''That was only the wind Shade'', Marina said but looked around as well.

''No, it sounded like...''

''Voices!'' I finished his sentence and stared in the same direction as he did. I couldn't tell if they were exactly bat voices. But since Shade was hearing hem too I assumed that they couldn't be human voices carried over to us by the wind.

I kinda felt as if I was back in the echo chamber trying to filter out the ancient voices of bats long dead from a multitude of voices in order to learn the history of the Great War.

''Wait, I think I hear something now too,'' said Orestes.

''Me too!'' said Ariel.

''Follow me, Silverwings!'' Frieda twisted her wings and then turned to the right. The rest of the group followed her on foot. The closer we got to the voices, the louder they became. Flowed together like a stream in the air.

''Look!'' I heard Icarus say just a few moments later.

The grassland before us sank down on a gentle slope. At the bottom of the valley, a pool of blinding lights and sounds spread out. And all at once, the voices seemed to rise from this place. A mysterious choir, confusing, but melodic and irresistibly attractive.

''What are they saying?'' Marina asked overwhelmed.

''I don't know.'' It was impossible to understand a single word. There was too much disorientation in them.

''Never mind,'' said Shade, sounding very agitated. ''That must be that human building down there! They want us to come to them. Come on!'' And before anyone could stop him, Shade threw himself down into the valley. The rest of us followed him, and now I could see walls and a roof with shiny metal chimneys. Additionally, the area was surrounded by an iron fence and secured with barbed wire. Whatever this was. Unauthorized persons were certainly not allowed to enter this area.

We landed on the roof of the building, which was covered by shiny black glass plates. I slipped off Icarus' back and tried to look inside, but couldn't see a thing.

''Hey, guys, over here.''

Not two steps away from me Shade leaned belly-up over the edge of the roof and pointed to something below. I crawled to his side and looked down. Just below the edge of the roof was a narrow opening. Big enough for a bat or even a mouse-sized human to fit in.

''Eh, well that's too small for me,'' said Orestes, who had now also leaned over the balustrade to have a look under the roof.

''Perhaps there is another entrance?'' Shade said.

I looked around until I noticed another hole further to the left. ''Over there,'' I pointed with my finger. ''This should be big enough.''

''I can try,'' Orestes flew over while Shade rose from the roof and headed towards the smaller hole.

But before he could do that, he got stopped by Marina. ''Wait a minute, boys!'' she said, ''We can't just fly in there. We don't know what's inside.''

''My father's in there Marina.''

''You don't know that for sure.''

''But if we stay out here, we'll never know.''

''He's right,'' I said, ''Besides, it'll be morning soon. What if owls fly by here and see us?''

''Vanessa is right,'' Frieda remarked. ''It may be risky, but dawn is approaching and there may not be enough time to find another shelter for the day.''

''Then what are we waiting for?''

''Shade wait!'' his mother cried out, but he was already in the hole. With Marina's help, I climbed in as well and noticed that the entrance widened into a deep dark tunnel. Instantly Shade crawled towards its end.

''Now wait a minute Shade, you can't just...''

But the young Silverwing just kept crawling. Ignoring Marina's warnings. I hurried after him and slowly but surely got a very bad feeling about this place. As if something was wrong with it.

''I don't like this Shade'', I said ''Maybe we shouldn't go any further.''

''But you do believe my father is here, don't you?!''

''Well, yes...'' I glanced to the side to avoid his piercing stare. ''I just don't think we should rush into something where we might not find our way ouAAAAAAAAHH!!!''

''VANESSA?!''

Without thinking, I had crawled on when suddenly the ground below me gave way. The chorus of the beautiful melodic voice I had heard until then stopped at once as I fell headfirst into the depth.


	3. Elysium

My breath stagnated for a second as Shade grabbed me by the leg and thus stopped my fall.

''Oh, great goddess Nocturna! Vanessa are you ok?'' Marina rushed over to us from the tunnel. Her eyes widened in shock.

''I'm fine,'' I replied, my voice no louder than a squeak. ''However, I would rather not hang upside down in the air the whole time.''

Shade understood and quickly glided over to a nearby elm tree where he dropped me on one of the top branches.

''Next time you'd better watch where you're going,'' he said with a grin.

''Haha very funny, Shade.''

''Eh, guys. Where are we?''

At Marina's question, we both turned our attention to what was in front of us and ... gasped.

A forest was stretching before us. Not the black grey woods we had just left behind us with snow-covered trees and sparse branches. But a warm summer forest wrapped in a canopy of green leaves, with colorful wildflowers entwining around the branches and the smell of sweet fruits in the air. I could even hear a bubbling stream further down.

But how could this all be? It was in the middle of winter. How could there be a forest where summer never seemed to end?

Feeling confused, I looked around and up at the ceiling. Familiar stars twinkled in the sky, which was slowly becoming brighter. But we weren't outside anymore, so how could it be that ...?  But of course! We must be in some kind of greenhouse. That was the only explanation. Just what was its purpose?

Meanwhile, the other Silverwings also burst in and circled around in awe.

''What is this place?'' asked Chinook and came to roost on our tree right between Marina and Shade.

It was obvious that the latter wasn't exactly thrilled about it. He glared at Chinook in a way as if he wished he'd drop dead from the branch.

''Shade...'', I hissed at him through my teeth. This was really not the time for jealousy. He grumbled dissatisfied, but then stopped throwing toxic glares at Chinook.

"A summer forest in the middle of winter? How is this possible Frieda?''

"I don't know, Hector. This all seems like a mystery to me.''

For the bats, it was incredible: a living forest, inside a building! They had seen nothing like it before. Despite all the astonishment, it was good to feel my bones warm up after the bitter cold outside. The air was not too hot, but still warm enough for me to take off my coat and hang it next to me over the branch.

''So'', said Todd and tugged tentatively at a leaf. ''I don't know about you. But it certainly feels real.''

"Because that's what it is, my boy.''

We all turned around to the sound of the unknown voice and glanced at a crowd of strange bats. There were thousands of them. Greywings, Brightwings, Brownwings, Silverwings, ... and bats whose kind I did not know but perhaps have seen before. Back at Scirocco's cult. Yet not a single one of them seemed familiar to me. Some of them were banded, most of them not. They hung in the surrounding trees or circled curiously around us.

An elderly female hoary bat broke away from the turmoil and flew over to us. She had grey-silver striped fur, brown wings, light sand-colored curly hair with two darker strands and a mane of the same color. Her eyes were dark, almost black with white patches that sparkled like tiny stars, making her look very penetrating, and under her chin grew her cream-colored muzzle into a long and pointy beard. Ad on her left forearm sparkled a silver band.

"Welcome newcomers," she greeted us warmly, "Welcome you all. We didn't expect anyone new before spring. So it is a pleasure to see you have found your way to us.''

"Thank you very much ...''

"Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Arcadia, I was one of the first to find this place and therefore am the leader of all the bats that are here.''

''It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Frieda Silverwing, and this...'' she motioned towards at me and the others. "are members of my colony. We come from Hibernaculum, two-night flights from the east.''

"I see. But I see you have a Brightwing among you?!'' She looked at Marina with interest, as if she wondered what a Brightwing was doing in a Silverwing colony.

"Marina recently joined our colony after being on her own for a long time because her former colony had disowned her," Frieda explained.

Arcadia nodded sympathetically. "Because of her band. I get it. No, my child. It's all right. You don't need to hide it.'' The old bat had noticed how Marina, out of habit, tried to hide her arm under her wing. Caught, she stopped and blushed.

"All bats are welcome here. No matter with or without a band.''

''Sounds good to me'', I said to Shade who nodded in agreement. But then he frowned, and I was wondering what the matter now was. With a nod, he pointed forward and I turned around to see Arkardia staring at me with big eyes. The other bats had also noticed me and whispered excitedly to each other. I swallowed and felt a little like back with the banded bats in the mountains.

"Holy Nocturna..." Arcadia whispered in awe, "You have brought a human with you.''

''So? Is there a problem with it?'' Shade asked to my defense and frowned at her.

She shook her head. "Oh, no. On the contrary, it's a great honor to welcome you to our home. Please tell us your name.

"Er, I'm Vanessa," I said, not knowing what to make of her reaction.

"Welcome, Vanessa.'' She gave me a friendly smile and then turned back to Frieda. "You are so lucky to have someone like in your midst. No wonder you found us so late in the winter.''

Shade and I exchange a few puzzled looks.

"Eh, sorry," said Todd, "you still haven't told us where we are.''

"But isn't it obvious, my dear?'' Arcadia replied. ''You are in Elysium. Also known as Paradise!''

''Paradise?''

My friends and I continued to exchange surprised looks hearing that. What was that supposed to mean now?

Arcadia just smiled. Apparently, a reaction like ours was nothing unusual to her.

"Come, friends'', she said, ''I'll gladly explain everything to you all.''  And with that she flew ahead, leaving us no choice but to follow her, in order to get some well-needed answers.

She led us to a small meadow with colorful flowers next to a stream with crystal clear water. After everyone landed, I sat down on the grass and waited to hear what Arcadia had to tell us. She herself waited patiently until all eyes focused on her.

''As you know, we bats have a hard time in the outside world. The birds and the beasts are our enemies and we are not allowed to be outside in daylight. Even the slightest glimpse of the sun can end up with terrible consequences.''

I knew exactly what she meant and glanced briefly over at Shade. He returned my gaze for only a few seconds and then turned away. It was clear to me that Shade was still blaming himself for losing Tree-Heaven. And to be honest - so was I.

''Perhaps you have heard of Nocturna's great promise,'' Arcadia continued. ''The promise that one day we shall return to the light of day.''

Frieda nodded.''This story is well known to some of us, but what does it have to do with this place?''

''Quite simple.'' Arcadia’s smile grew so broad, it almost looked unnatural. ''These here is the fulfillment of that promise. In Nocturna's name, humans have given us a place where we can finally be free. Free from fear and danger. The trees are green all year round and the stream never freezes over. It's always warm as a summer night with as many insects to feed on as you can wish for.''

''How many bats live here?'' asked Frieda.

''Several thousand at least. All from different colonies.''

Again my gaze turned to the Shade. This time he didn't look back to me but shifted restlessly back and forth on his spot. It must have been torturous for him to know his father might be one of them but wasn't allowed to look for him right away.

''Every single one of us came from places that are millions of wingbeats away from each other'', Arcadia explained. ''But we all had two things in common. We believed in the secret of the bands. And we have heard the call.''

''The Call?'' said Frieda.''You mean the voices outside this building?''

''Yes,'' Arcadia confirmed. ''They are meant to lead us to this place. My group was the first to arrive. That was about two months ago.'' There was a kind of pride in her voice. ''The forest here was empty then. As if Nocturna had just created it for us.''

I frowned. Something was wrong. Shade thought so too and immediately blurted out the question how it was possible for them to hear voices when there was no one in here before?

From the way Arcadia stared at him I could tell that she disapproved of a young bat like him asking questions. Although his question was quite justified. Yet all what the old Hoary bat told us was that it was a secret. Nothing more. Great explanation! Really helpful!

''And are there really no birds or beasts here?'' Isis asked and glancing around nervously while huddling closer to her mate. Only now did I realize that the sky above us was getting brighter. Outside this greenhouse it would mean that the owls would soon patrol the air, that birds would wake up from their nests, and that beasts would start sniffing around for food. Arcadia, however, seemed unconcerned. Instead, she smiled again.

''You don't need to be afraid. There are no animals in this forest except us bats and, of course, insects.''

''But why?'' The words were out of Shade's mouth before he could stop himself. ''Why did the humans build this place for us?''

''As I've told you before. It is the fulfillment of Nocturna's Great Promise. See for yourself!'' She pointed her wing up to the roof, causing us all to follow her gaze.

By now the sky had become even brighter and a powerful band of light stretched across the eastern horizon. The dawn. I still remembered how Shade and I had been waiting for the sunrise serval weeks ago. And now I could see the same mixture of fear and admiration in the faces of the others as I had seen in Shade's face.

After millions of years without the sun, they now saw it rise with royal grace, leaving veils of mist on the horizon behind it. My friends fell into silent amazement watching it and I also didn't hear a sound from Arcadia or the other bats. They all continued to watch fearfully as the sun took on its full glory. A shining disk in the firmament.  But then I noticed how Shade frowned in confusion and bent over to him. ''Say, isn't the sun actually much brighter?'' he murmured to me.

I nodded. ''The glass roof softens it a little,'' I said.

''Arcadia lifted into the air and floated over our heads. Bathed in sunlight, she was radiant and the white spots in her eyes gleamed like little suns.

''You see,'' she said, ''just what I told you. The great promise has been fulfilled! Here is the sun! And we can look at it. We can fly in its light without fear. There are no owls or beasts here that could hunt us. The sun is ours again! Our banishment is over!''

''But what about the bands?'' Icarus asked, ''What do they have to do with all this?''

''After I received my own band, I thought a lot about it. Like certainly a lot of us,'' Arcadia said.

''Eventually, I came to the conclusion that the bands merely serve as a way for us to connect with the humans. They are signs of friendship, a symbol of the Great Promise. A promise that Nocturna gave us and got fulfilled by humans.'' She smiled down at me with a radiant smile. It embarrassed me a little, so I looked away and noticed how Shade and his mother gave each other meaningful looks.

''We came here because we are looking for someone,'' Ariel told Arcadia. “A banded Silverwing named Cassiel.''

Arcadia landed back on the ground, scratching her chin. ''Cassiel... Cassiel... That name doesn't ring a bell. But so many have come here. Let me try...'' She raised her voice and called into the forest: ''Is there a Cassiel Silverwing among us? Pass the question.''

I noticed how Shade buffed his fur when he heard his father's name echoing from tree to tree until we heard it throughout the forest.

''Cassiel! Cassiel Silverwing! Is he herer? Cassiel ... Cassiel ... Cassiel.''

But the voices grew faint and eventually became silent. I listened intently hoping to hear an answer. But it never came. After a few agonizing moments of silence, Arcadia turned to Ariel with compassion.

''I'm sorry.''

''Thank you,'' said Ariel, but her voice was merely a soft whisper. The spark of hope that had gleamed in her eyes was gone. Her ears slowly folded to her head while Hector placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

The other bats also expressed their condolences. But Shade seemed to ignore them all. He just stared at Arcadia and shook his head.

''He must be here!'' he insisted. ''He came here last spring. He knew about this place. He must have come here - even before anyone else. He is here!''

''Now, listen to me, boy,'' Arcadia said frowning at him. ''I and my group were the first to arrive. There were no other bats in this forest before, and I don't remember a banded Silverwing named Cassiel.''

''But... but...''

''Shade it is ok,'' said Ariel softly, ''We've tried. He's not here.''

Shade opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. I felt I should do something, but I didn't know what to do except touching his arm in sympathy.

''Shade, I...'' But he just shook his head and brushed my arm off. His eyes filling with tears. Without a word, he eventually jumped up into the air and fled into the woods

''Shade!''

''Let him go, Vanessa,'' Ariel said. ''He needs to be alone right now. I'll check on him later.''

I sighed. ''I'm sorry Cassiel isn't here,'' I said. But Ariel just shook her head and offered me a tentative smile.

''There is no need for you to apologize. None of us knew if he was really here. He might have flown to another building.''

''Yeah, maybe.''

* * *

We spent the rest of the morning looking for food and exploring the area. But although the fruits here were juicy and delicious, I barely felt hungry enough to eat a lot of them.

I still felt sorry for Shade and Ariel. They had so hoped to find Cassiel again. Especially Shade. But eventually, their expectations were crushed. I wished I could have known how Shade was doing right now. But I hadn't seen my Silverwing friend since he bolted into the forest.

''He'll be back,'' I said to myself. "He just needs some alone time. That's all.'' I couldn't help but smiled. Time for oneself. I haven't had much time alone since I met Silverwings. Although that's always been very important to me. I've never enjoyed spending time with other people without the possibility of having some privacy from time to time.

I guess I just hadn't thought about it. There had been more important things. Or maybe I just liked the company of the Silverwings better because they were animals and not humans.

Anyway, it just seemed a little strange to me now as I was sitting there alone by the creek eating my berries while my friends were out in the woods. Marina wanted to stay with me first, but I told her to go catch some insects which she then did and accompanied Chinook, Breeze, and Todd on their hunt.

And then I thought about Orestes and wondered how he was doing. Like Cassiel he was not here. At least we had not found him yet. I supposed he was in another part of the building. The forest was huge, but I remembered that the building had looked much bigger from the outside. Though I could be wrong.

''There you are Vanessa.'' I looked up to see Icarus landing by me. ''I found a roost for us and prepared a nest out of leaves and grass for you to sleep in.''

''That's great'', I said, suppressing a yawn. I didn't realize how tired I was.

After stretching myself I climbed on Icarus' back so he could take me to our sleeping place. As I slipped under the leaves in my nest-like bed, I felt like I was back in Tree Heaven. Only this time Mercury wasn’t with me but Icarus. Nice to know that he was as willing to take care of me just like his mate did.

... When exactly did they adopt me again?


	4. Snared

'We must decide about what we should do now,'' said Frieda and the Silverwings, Marina, and I agreed.

After taking a good rest for the day, we gathered early the next evening near the stream where Arcadia had talked to us in the morning before. Since we couldn't find Cassiel here, we wondered what our next steps should be. Should we stay or should we go?

''Why don't we just stay?'' asked a young male named Windslang. ''I mean, this place is perfect. We're safe from the owls and we don't have to worry about winter.''

The others nodded their heads in agreement. Only Shade shook his head and turned away from the rest of the group. I sighed. I knew he was still disappointed that his father wasn't here. Unfortunately, this building had been our only clue. And with no further hints, searching for Cassiel was just like searching for a needle in a haystack.

''Indeed. This place is wonderful. The perfect sanctuary for our colony.''

''You may be right, Icarus,'' said Frieda and nodded to him. ''I suggest that a few of us fly back to Hibernaculum and lead the rest of the colony here. Who volunteers?''

Instantly, Chinook's wings shot up in the air, followed by Icarus, Hector. and Plato.

''I'm afraid this won't be possible,'' came Arcadia's voice and I turned around to see her approaching us.

''I don't understand,'' replied Frieda. Arcadia smiled and landed on the ground right in front of the Elder. She was one head smaller than her, but this didn't seem to intimidate her at all.

''Simple,'' she said. ''The rest of your colony has already made its choice. They have decided not to join you.''

''True, but only because they had no idea where we were going,'' said Frieda. ''Though when they hear about this place, they will be eager to come here.''

''Elysium is only for those who have the faith and courage to seek it.''

What did the old bat mean by that? I wondered and noticed Frieda becoming suspicious as well. ''Don't you think that's a bit harsh?'' Her voice was still calm, but I could tell by the way she folded her wings in front of her chest that she was getting upset.

''This is the way Nocturna wanted it. And the decision has already been taken. The door opens only in one way,'' said Acardia, and we all gasped.

''You mean we're trapped?'' Shade blurted out.

Arcadia looked at him mockingly. ''You can't be trapped in paradise. This is your final destiny. Accept it, young bat.''

Shade did not accept it at all. Snorting, he turned away from the old Hoary bat and flew up to the ceiling. I watched him disappear into the opening in the wall from where we came in and hoped he would manage to find his way through the trap door inside it. But not a moment later he came back.

''Marina, Chinook,'' he called down, ''Come, you must help me.''

''That's enough!'' Arcadia hissed sternly. ''How dare you? I am appalled by this blatantly ungrateful behavior. And that in front of a human.'' She gestured over to me. ''It is thanks to her kind that we have this wonderful paradise in the first place.''

''Then why can't we get out?'' Shade asked. His voice shaking.

''The door was designed to keep us safe, and to keep our enemies out.''

''But that doesn't make any sense,'' I said, raising an eyebrow and watched Arcadia blinking at me. She seemed visibly surprised at what I said.

''What are you talking about?'' she asked. ''Of course, it makes sense. You, yourself, should know that better than anyone.''

''No, I don't. I did not build this building. So I don't know what purpose it serves.''

''It protects us.''

''How?'' I asked, stretching my arm. ''If everybody can get in but can't get out, how is this place safe?''

''Our enemies can't get in here,'' said Arcadia.

I recalled how Orestes didn't fit through the opening and therefore had to find another way in. So I had to admit, she was right on that part. ''But then why aren't they trapped here instead of us?'' I asked.

''Now, stop it!'' You could tell from the way Arcadia was looking at me that she did not like what I was talking about.

''But Vanessa's right,'' came Shade to my aid as he landed on the ground next to me. ''This place is a trap. We should be looking for a way to get out of here as soon as possible.''

''That's enough!'' Arcadia boomed and furiously flapped her wings. ''How dare you? Especially you!'' she shook her head, staring at me. ''How dare you speak ill of what your people have accomplished for us?''

''Well ... ,'' I began, but Icarus interrupted me.

''It's enough, Vanessa!'' he scolded me. ''We don't need to discuss this further.''

''But...''

''The same goes for you, Shade,'' Ariel added.

Shade and I looked at each other. Both of us knew, that we should better leave this place. And that quickly. But it seems the others didn't want to listen.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucretia and Orion, along with the rest of the Silverwing colony, were waiting patiently for Mercury's return.

With today it was the second night that the messenger went in search of Ursa, who was supposed to help them find a safer place to hibernate before the owls may come.

''Let us hope he succeeds this time,'' said the female elder. Orion nodded and glanced briefly out to the entrance of the Hibernaculum.

''You'd think finding a white blackbear would be pup's play.''

''Not with all this snow,'' Lucretia replied and let out a sigh. ''What do you think? Will the others manage to find Cassiel?''

''I don't have much hope,'' he confessed. ''But at least they have a clue. Maybe this building Icarus spoke of will help them find him.''

''If they even find it.''

Just then, an icy wind blew into the cave, causing Lucretia to shiver a little and wrap her wings closer around her body.

''We should go further inside,'' Orion said, shaking himself. ''This weather is not good for our old bones.''

''You're right, we...''

''OWLS!''

Lucretia and Orion both swirled around to see Mercury rushing inside with panic in his eyes. ''They found us!'' he screamed.

Right behind him appeared General Brutus himself, together with his lieutenant Atlas and three more owls. Together they blocked the only entrance to the winter roost and caused everyone to go dead silent until Orion spoke up.

''General Brutus! What is the meaning of this?'' he demanded to know.

''I have no business with you, bat,'' the general said, glaring at him. ''I merely demand the surrender of Frieda Silverwing and the other traitors, Shade Silverwing, his female accomplices, that human girl, and … my son.'' Brutus shook his feathery head in disgust.

''General Brutus,'' Orion stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists and his fangs bared, ''How dare you invade our winter roost! It's against the law.''

''Save your breath, bat,'' the general spat. ''King Boreal himself gave me his permission for this operation. Besides, I only negotiate with your new leader ... Bathsheba.'' Brutus moved his wing aside, revealing a smug-looking old bat.

Lucretia and Orion were shocked, and so was the rest of the colony.

''Bathsheba?'' the male chief elder said while starring with disbelief at the other bat. ''What have you done? You let our enemies straight to us.''

Bathsheba just snored, unaffected by his words. ''Sometimes you have to sacrifice the fewer for the many, Orion,'' she said.

''Enough of this,'' Brutus declared angrily. ''Now hand over the traitors and nothing harm will come over to the rest of you.''

''They aren't here,'' said Lucretia.

''Then where are they?''

''We won't tell you,'' said Orion with a frown. ''Now leave this place, Brutus, otherwise, you will feel the wrath of all of us.''

Some of the others, especially the adult males, agreed with him. Brutus, however, was far from impressed.

''Well, I thought you might not want to cooperate. In this case...'' he turned to his owl soldiers. ''Capture these two together with the other elders and lock them up until they tell us the traitors' whereabouts.''

"What?''

''No!''

The colony erupted in an uproar as two owls approached and took their elders in their claws and carried them off. Mercury tried to stop them, but got brushed off by a wing and tossed against a wall. Hissing in pain, he got back up to his knees and glared at Bathsheba.

''How could you do this?'' he asked with disgust of what she had done. ''We are your colony.''

''Well, maybe you could tell us where they are, Mercury,'' said Bathsheba while glaring at him. ''After all, I don't see your mate hanging around, so you must know something too.''

''I won't tell you anything,'' he spat.

Brutus shook his head, watching him with a sighed. ''Bats,'' he mumbled, then ordered his soldiers to arrest Mercury as well.

* * *

With a sigh, I looked at the flower in my hand while sitting on a root in the shade of a young beech tree. I still couldn't believe that we were trapped here. Paradise. Pah! As if. Good. The forest itself was beautiful. A mixture of conifers and deciduous trees with soft soil of mosses, wildflowers, and grass. Even the stream was nice and clean and ran from one end to the other. In other words, it was the perfect forest for a walk or a picnic. Even at night.

Still, knowing a way out would have been nice. Not to leave this place immediately. But for the possibility. Besides, it would give us a chance to get the other Silverwings. I bet they were wondering by now where we all were.

Looking up, I saw Shade fluttering around, still in search of a way out. He has been doing that for three nights now and with no sign to stop it soon. I had tried to help him at first. But there was little I could do. The forest was huge. It would take months to comb through it fully. Especially without help.

It wasn't like the others didn't want to help. On the contrary. Frieda was worried about the colony, Breeze and Todd missed their parents, and Icarus longed to see Mercury again. And the rest of our group also wished for a way to be with the other Silverwings again, while wondering if they were okay and all. But instead of flying around, looking for hidden holes and secret doors, they took things calmy. Though in Shade's eyes it looked like they were just fooling around and did nothing besides have a great time as if we were on vacation. Not caring about the others at all.

To be honest, I was disappointed at them too for not actively looking for an escape like Shade and I did. But then Frieda told me that this wasn't the wisest way to do it. Even if all of us searched through the entire forest, it would take too much time. But we were new here. We needed time to befriend the other bats. Only then they might agree on helping us. It seemed logical to me, and I hoped it wouldn't take too long for us to gain the trust of the others. So I took it easy with my own search. Although I didn't stop it completely. I merely concentrated on enjoying the momentary peace and warmth and made acquaintance with the other bats. They were all nice and even waved at me when they spotted me while passing by.

Marina befriended a group of Brightwings or hung out with Chinook, Todd, and Breeze most of the time. And whenever I wasn't out for a walk or just sitting somewhere and following my thoughts, I usually joined them. In the beginning, we also asked Shade, but he always came up with some excuse so we stopped asking.

''Hi there!'' I looked up and saw Marina roosting above me.

''Hey.''

''How is it going?'' she asked and moved down to my side.

''I'm fine,'' I replied and tossed the flower in my hand away while changing my sitting position to a more comfortable one. ''I just saw Shade flying past.''

''Still searching, I suppose.''

I nodded.

She sighed. ''Of course, he does. He can't just take a break for once, can he.''

''Well, it wouldn't be wrong to know a way out of here in case of emergency,'' I said.

''What emergency?''

''Marina, not all humans are nice. Just because they build this here doesn't mean they have good intentions with it.''

''If that's the case,'' she asked, ''then why bother making a forest so wonderful as this one?''

I shrugged. ''Beats me. The only reason I can think of is that they don't want you guys to suspect anything wrong.''

Marina rubbed her chin and seemed to think about what I just said.

''Let's assume you are right,'' she said, ''what do you suggest we should do?''

''Keep looking for a way out?'' I shrugged again, let out a deep sigh. ''Honestly, I have no idea but we should still be alert.''

Marina got silent for a moment. ''And what if Arcadia is right?''

''What do you mean?'' I asked.

''What if she is right, and this here is the fulfillment of Nocturna's great promise?''

I had no idea how to respond to that. Actually, I didn't believe it. Also, I wasn't really convinced that Nocturna even existed. I generally did not believe in the existence of any Gods. But I didn't tell her that. I wasn't one to question anyone's beliefs. That was their business, and as long as no one tried to force their beliefs on me, everything was fine.

Marina wanted to say something again, but then we noticed Shade hanging around near the stream.

''Come on, let's say hello to him before he flies off again,'' I said. Marina hesitated for a second, but then nodded and grabbed my hands with her feet to fly us both over to him.

''Still searching,'' she greeted him as soon as we landed. Shade just nodded and took a quick glance at us.

''And? Are you two enjoying paradise?'' the mocking undertone in his voice was unavoidable, but Marina and I ignored it.

''Better than being eaten by owls,'' Marina smiled. ''Come on, Shade, give it a rest. If anyone deserves a break, it's you. This place is not that bad.''

A tiger moth fluttered around Shade's nose, but the Silverwing made no attempt to hunt it.

''You know where the bugs come from,'' he said. ''Those little holes in the cliffs.''

''You mean the walls of the room?''

Shade blinked at me for a second. ''Uh, yes. Anyway, these things are everywhere and the bugs come shooting out. Hard to believe what?''

''Shade, what does it matter?'' Marina asked.

''And they don't taste very good, either.''

''Now hold your breath,'' Marina put her hands on her hips. ''You are complaining about the food? Would you rather be outside scraping frozen lichen off a tree?''

''You know I am right,'' he said. ''The insects don't taste normal, and they all taste the same. The bugs aren't as crunchy as they are outside. You must have noticed that.''

She frowned. ''Maybe I did, but is that so bad?''

''Besides, they're all too easy to catch,'' he continued, ''even the tiger moths. And they are supposed to be a challenge, yet I haven't missed a single one today.''

''I don't know what your problem is, Shade. It all fits. The sun. No owls.''

''I know, I know,'' he said irritated. ''But not even the sun is the same. It's actually much brighter than this one. You both saw it with me, remember?''

''It was too painful to look at it outside. This way we can enjoy it,'' said Marina and let out a sigh. ''Look. Arcadia has been here for two months and nothing bad had happened to her or the other bats.

''Everyone seems pretty happy, don't you think?''

''Very happy,'' he muttered, then looked at us both carefully. ''Don't you feel like prisoners at all?''

''Well...'' I turned to Marina.

''You're so mistrustful, Shade,'' she said, shaking her head. ''Isn't it enough that the humans made this place for us?''

Shade frowned. ''No, it's not enough for me. I want to know why they did it.''

''And how, may I ask, do you expect to find that out?'' she asked. ''You can't exactly ask them.''

''I don't, but Vanessa can.''

I blinked at him in surprise. ''Say what?''

''You're human, too,'' he said looking at me ''You can understand them and you could figure out the meaning of all this so much easier than we could.''

''Of course, Shade,'' I said without hiding the sarcasm in my voice. ''That's exactly what we will do. I'm just gonna walk over to the humans who are probably somewhere in this building by ... I don't know, crawl through one of these insect holes maybe and ask them why they built this place.'' I nodded emphatically. ''Surely, it won't seem odd to them to see a tiny human standing right in front of them.'' I shook my head, rolling my eyes. ''Guys this...'' I pointed up and down at myself. ''It not normal, even for my kind.''

Shade sighed. ''I just want to know the truth of this all. "For all we know, they may just be collecting us. Maybe they want something from us.''

''Nobody forced us to be here Shade,'' Marina reminded him. ''We flew in here by choice. We didn't need to. You were the first one, remember?''

''Actually, that was Vanessa.''

''Hey! That was an accident. I didn't mean to fall headfirst through a trap door.''

''I know. I'm sorry.'' he sighed. ''I just thought ... I thought I would find my father here.''

''We know,'' Marina said, looking at him sympathetically, ''And we are both sorry that he isn't. But look: It's no use worrying all the time. You should relax a little, like the rest of us.''

''And do what? Listen to Chinooks funny stories all the time?''

She looked at him funny. ''What's that supposed to mean?''

He huffed and crossed his arms. ''Oh, come on. I bet he's a real funny guy. Why else would you want to be with him all the time?''

"Now, stop it Shade. This is not the best time for jealousy dramas,'' I said.

"I'm not jealous.''

"Well, then what do you call it?" Marina demanded to know and glared at him. ''Admit it. You don't like how I spend more time with Chinook than with you.''

"That's not...''

"Let me tell you something," Marina took a few steps forward so that her and Shades' noses almost touched. Her eyes sparkling angrily. "For the first time in my life, since I was exiled from my own colony I am truly happy. Ariel is like a mother to me and the other Silverwings are all nice to me too. And so are all the other bats I have encountered in these woods so far. Nobody cares a thing if I or anyone else wears a band or not.''

"She's got a point, Shade," I said.

Shade took a step back from Marina and glared at us both.

"I never said I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. I just want the opportunity to do so. Besides, the other Silverwings at Hibernaculum are still in danger. But apparently you don't care about that.''

"What? Of course we do.''

"Oh, yeah?'' he said irritably. ''Then why am I the only one trying to do something?''

''You're not the only one,'' I said, raising my voice and crossed my arms before my chest. "We're all looking for a way out, just a little slower.''

He laughed half-heartedly. "Well, that's great. And when are we gonna get out of here? In ten years?''

''Shade!''

"You know what? Why don't you go back to Chinook or sit in the shade and nightdream all the time? After all, that's what you two love doing the whole time.''

Now I had enough and so did Marina.

"Do what you want, Shade," she simply said, and then flew off.

Shade huffed and turned to me. ''And why are you still here?'' he asked

Angrily, I drilled my fingernails into my upper arm. ''You only doing this because you still want to find your father,'' I said. ''That's the real reason. If Cassiel were here, you'd also slow down a bit.''

''What's wrong with it?'' he snapped. ''Should I just accept that he might not be even alive anymore like I originally thought?'' He violently shook his head. ''I'm sorry Vanessa but I can't and won't do that. Not yet. But you don't understand that apparently.''

''You are not the only one who lost a father, Shade.''

''But at least you know where yours is. And I don't mean Mercury or Icarus. I'm talking about your human father,'' he said. ''I bet you can't even wait to return home and embrace him.''

My fingernails dug even deeper into my arm while I glared at him coldly, listening to him.

''No, Shade ... I can't do that?''

''Why?''

''Because, he's dead!''

And with that I turned around and walked off into the forest, leaving Shade alone by the stream not wanting to see or talk to him for a while.


	5. Missing

Lost in thoughts, I watched a moth lazily fluttering past me. It's been a week now since we got trapped in this artificial forest. Which I was sure was a research station. But I had no clue what purpose it served? Was it simply to study the behavior of the bats? If so, then why do they need to trap all the animals inside without giving them the choice to fly in or out whenever they want to?

All these questions went through my mind. As well as the thought that Cassiel might have been here after all and just got released before Arcadia and her group arrived. But wouldn't he have flown back home then? Did he still got caught by an owl? I hoped not. Shade was so eager to find his father it upset me to to think he might never succeed. But without the help, how should any of us get out? Even though my bat friends and I had made some acquaintances among the other bats, none of them were willing to help us find an exit.

The reason for this was Arcadia. She was quite popular in this forest and highly respected. But she didn't like it at all that someone was upsetting the harmony by looking for a way out of this so-called paradise. I disliked the disapproving look I sometimes witnessed her throwing at Shade. And I had the feeling that sooner or later she would come up with something bad to stop him from what he was doing.

Part of me wanted to warn Shade about this, but our little argument a few days ago must have been a little intense. We still greeted each other whenever we met, but there was no other conversation. Worse was that sometimes he looked at me so strangely. As if he wanted to say something, but then he always flew away again, saying nothing.

''It's probably because of what I had said to him,'' I said to myself and rubbed my palm across my face. ''Ugh, why did I even tell him that? What did I expect? That Shade would stop obsessively pursuing Cassiel's trail?'' With a sigh, I rubbed the back of my nose. Knowing I just acted on impulse. I was angry and simply said whatever came into my head without thinking about it twice.

I still remember Shade's shocked expression. I shouldn't have told him about my father. I've never told my animal friends anything about my human family, anyway. Like Marina, I didn't like talking about them. I basically turned my back on them for reasons. That's why I booked a two-week holiday trip to Canada just for myself. Thinking about it, it had probably already expired by now.

Another insect was buzzing around me and crawled over my new grass skirt, which I was just finishing up. I shooed it away and put on my new clothes. I still preferred real clothes but since there was nothing like that to be found around here I had to find alternatives. Also I couldn't keep on wearing the tattered rags I wore before. Nor did I not want to wrap a leaf around my body like I did after I got shrunk. The new version was much better.

Satisfied, I looked at myself from all sides. This time I had chosen a two-piece. A skirt made of bound gras stalks and a short belly-free, sleeveless top, comprising leaves wrapped around my chest. For accessories I tied a belt of colorful flowers around my hips, which I had previously braided together with Marina and Breeze before they left to go hunting.

 _''Not bad,''_ I thought looking at the result and then noticed Icarus coming over to me, holding a fruit in his hand.

''For you. I thought you might be hungry,'' he told me. Gratefully, I took the fruit and took a bite. It tasted delightfully sweet but not too ripe, so the fruit juice wasn't dripping over my chin.

''That was great. Thank's Icarus.''

He smiled. ''Good to know you like it,'' He said and roosted on a branch above me. Letting out a soft sigh, he stared off into the forest.

''You ok?'' I asked, throwing away the seed of the fruit.

''Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine.''

I could see that he was lying. His eyes were longing and grieving.

''You are thinking about Mercury, aren't you?''

At first Icarus said nothing, but then he nodded. ''You can't imagine how much I miss him'', he said. ''If only he had come with us.''

''I wish he came with us too,'' I replied honestly, ''But Frieda said he had to stay with the colony and look for Ursa. She said he was one of the best scouts for this job.''

Icarus smiled. ''I know. That's why he got picked to be the summer scout for the females more often than others. Even after we became mates.''

''I see.''

''Yeah,'' the smile vanished on Icarus face as he thought more about his missing beloved. Two bats greeted us shortly as they flew past and I recognised them as Chinooks parents, Plato and Isis.

''They both are so lucky you know,'' Icarus said looking after them, ''They are together and their son is with them as well.''

''True.'' I wanted to say more, but interrupted myself with a big yawn.

''Tired already?''

''Kinda,'' I replied and wiped some tears out of my eyes. Weird. Why was I so tired already? It wasn't even close to dawn yet. Then my nose caught a strange smell in the air? Chemical and sweet. I just noticed it now, and it made me feel sick, but my fatigue was stronger. Letting out another yawn, I felt my eyes getting heavier.

''We should head to our roost before we fall asleep here on the spot,'' said Icarus, looking a bit tired himself. He came down to my branch and let me climb up on his back then flew up to our sleeping spot. I snuggled into the back of his mane and slowly drifted off, the unpleasant smell still stuck in my nose.

* * *

Hours later, I woke up from a weird and crazy dream. I could barely remember anything about it except for three symbols. A two–headed feathered snake, a sleek jaguar and a pair of eyes without a face. Just two slits in the dark. Darker than the night. Like neon signs, they shone into my mind.

I could still see them after I opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. I've had weird dreams before, but these symbols...

I wondered what they meant. Or if they had any meaning at all and were not merely figments of my mind.

Sitting up, I stretched myself and looked around. I was alone in the tree-hole. Icarus must have been up already and out hunting. I walked over to the entrance, wondering if I could spot him outside.

Things were already turbulent outside. Bats of all kinds were fluttering through the forest, but they didn't seem to be on the hunt. They rather ignored the sluggishly buzzing moths and beetles around them.

''Where are they?''

''I can't find him!''

''She is gone!''

Confused I looked more around, wondering what was going on. Desperate calls for friends and family members filled the air mixed with crying. A Greywing female came over to him as I carefully climbed down to a branch. Her eyes were red and swollen.

''Have you seen my Dory?'' she asked me ''Please tell me you have seen her anywhere.''

''I'm sorry but no I...''

''I can't find her, '' she whined. ''She is gone like the others.''

''Wait what do you mean?'' But instead of giving me an anwser the Greywing mother lifted back off into the air. Calling out the name of her daughter.

Now I was feeling scared too. How come the bats all disappeared? There was no way out. They must have been taken away. But to where and for what? Luckily for me, the tree Icarus had chosen as our roost was full of branches so I could easily climb downwards.

Still, I was extremely careful. One wrong step and I was down faster than I wished. I already suffered from a broken bone. I did not want to go through that again.

Once I reached the ground, I ran through the woods calling out the name of my friends. Unfortunately, my voice drowned in the common confusion of shouting and sobbing.

Eventually I heard someone calling my name and turned around to see Icarus looking for me. I waved and called out to him to get his attention. Noticing me, his face lifted with relief. Then he flew down to me, followed by Ariel, Marina and Shade.

The adult Silverwing male rushed over to me and wrapped me into a tight hug.

''Why did you left the roost?'' he asked, grabbing my shoulders.

''Icarus, I'm not a child. I was just...''

''Hundreds of bats have gone missing,'' Ariel interrupted me, ''All gone without a trace.''

I gulped. Hundreds of bats disappearing out of the blue?!

''What about the rest of our group? Are they all still here?''

''Most of them,'' Icarus replied, ''But Hector, Chinook and his parents are missing.''

I felt shocked hearing this and glanced over to Marina and Shade. They too seemed concerned, yet they said nothing.

''Let's get to the clearing,'' said Ariel. ''Frieda said we would meet her there after she talked with Arcadia about whats going on.'' With a nod we followed her to the said place and found the Silverwing elder still discussing with the leader of Elysium. A crowd of others bats hanging around them in the nearby trees. At the sight of the assembly the female hoary bat immediately raised her voice for all to hear: ''Everyone please calm down. I'm sure we will figure out what's been going on. ''

''They left without a trace.'' came the voice of a long-eared bat.

''Where did they go?'' asked another one and quickly others joined in. Arcadia called for peace once more. "We'll figure out what happened. But please remain calm.''

"But where did they go?''

"I want my children back.''

"And I my mate.''

Arcadia had trouble keeping the worried crowd under control. "Everyone, please. We must keep calm.''

"It was the humans. The humans took her.''

All bats plus me turned around to face Shade who. He looked a bit intimdated with all those eyes looking at him but did his best not let it bother him so much.

''What are you talking about boy?'' Arcadia asked, frowning incredulously.

''They came when we were asleep,'' he explained. ''I saw them. First I thought it was just a dream but it fits. There were many of them. They went to the trees and picked the bats one by one with their long sceleton arms.''

Agitated murmurs rose in the crowd. And several pairs of eyes wandered over to me.

"Did anyone else see humans in the forest?" Arcadia asked.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then finally some hesitant answers came from the crowd like: Maybe they had seen something. Or maybe it was just a dream. But nobody seemed to be really sure about what they said.

But Shade was right. Only humans were able to enter the forest through the - for my circumstances - huge door on the wall and get the bats. And I also knew what they had used to help them with this.

''You have been drugged,'' I exclaimed, trying to shed some light on the subject.

I noticed how some bats in the audience gave me puzzled looks. Others, however, thought about my words and nodded as if it was the only logical explanation.

''Are you sure about this?'' Arcadia demanded to know.

I nodded and turned to the other bats. "Surely you must have noticed the strange smell.''

"Sweet," came a voice.

"Yes, I smelled it too," said another, "I thought it was just part of my dream.''

''The humans sprayed a sleeping powder into the air so you wouldn't notice how they took some of you out of here.''

The crowd began to wonder:

"What are they doing to them?''

"Why did they take them?''

"When will they bring them back?''

To my regret, they did not simply asked the questions through the area but addressed them directly to me. As if they expected me to answer their questions. Unfortunately I couldn't do that. I had no idea why some bats got taken away. Maybe for some experiments. But I didn't want to tell them that. Nor did I know if any of them were going to be brought back. It all depended on what my kind wanted from them. I just hoped it wasn't something bad.

I noticed Arcadia thoughtfully tugging at her fringed beard. Her black eyes coolly wandered over the faces of the bat.

Eventually she raised her powerful voice to the assembled crowd once again.

''If the humans really came and took some of us with them then it can only mean one thing. They were chosen to come to an even greater place.''

"Greater than paradise?" Shade cast a skeptical look on the old bat. The femle simply ignored him and preferred to turn her attention to the others instead. ''The humans have taken good care of us all this time. It is clearly Nocturne's will that they help us once more to reach our true destination.''

Amazement spread through the crowd. To me it all sounded doubtful but the bats that had lived in this forest for a long time seemed to believed in Arcadia's words.

"When will we be chosen?''

"Must we wait long?''

I winced as a young Brownwing female grasped my arm and looked at me pleadingly. "May I be the next one, please. I want to be with my mate again.''

"No, let me be the next.''

"No, me!''

More and more bats surrounded me on all sides, bombarding me with questions and wishes.

Desperately I tried to avoid them but the clusters around me grew thicker and thicker, their desires becoming more urgent. Eventually it became too much for me to bear so I shouted for them to leave me alone while I pushed some of those too close to me aside to squeeze through. Shade and Marina came to my aid and grabbed my hands to pull me out of the crowd. Together with Icarus, Ariel, Todd and Breeze they formed a circle around me to protect me from the other bats.

''Everyone, please calm down,'' Arcadia said. ''I'm sure all of us will be chosen when the time comes. Have faith everybody.''

Her words seemed to have their desired effect this time as well. The crowd became noticeably calmer and little by little they stopped pressuring me.

Once peace had finally returned, the hoary bat declared the meeting to be over and sent everyone back to their everyday business. Except for my friends and me, everyone followed her orders. We remained in the clearing and talked about what had just been discussed.

''Do you believe that's true?'' Todd asked.

"Not at all," said Shade.

''But what if it is true?''

"Wow." Breeze had a dreamy look in her eyes. "I always knew Chinook was special. Why else would he be among the first to be chosen for something special.'' Hearing this Shade rolled his eyes.

"You can't possibly believe that," he said.

"But if it's true...''

"Friends, please," Frieda joined the discussion. "'There is no use arguing about something we know little to nothing about''

"But what are we going to do now, Frieda?" Ariel asked.

''I'm afraid there is nothing we can do at the moment except wait.''

Not exactly what everyone wanted to hear, but she was right. Right now there was barely a thing we could do but wait and see what else would happen. I just hoped Chinook and the others were alright.

* * *

Moonlight shone into the narrow gap between two boulders on the riverbank close to Hibernaculum in which Mercury and the elders were imprisoned. Day and night they were guarded by owls and by wolves. Since they weren't even allowed out to hunt. The owls brought them a handful of miserable insects barely enough for all and threw those into their cell. Hibernation was also out of the question. Their prison was too drafty for that. The icy wind blew almost constantly through the gap of the sticks that had been placed as a barrier in front of the entrance. Furthermore, they were not left alone. Every night one of them got dragged out to answer General Brutus questions about the whereabouts of Frieda and the other.

Mercury could only shake his head. Brutus must have gone mad. Didn't he see that poor old bats could get sick and probably die from this procedure? At least he left the others in the Hibernaculum alone. At least as long as they obeyed Bathsheba as their leader. That traitor. How could she do this to them? What was wrong with her? He was so glad that Icarus and Vanessa weren't there. He missed them both dearly but didn't want them to endure what he and the elders were going through.

The Silverwing male shivered a little, not from the cold but from the pure image of what Brutus might do to the young human girl who was like a daughter to him.

Wherever she was, Mercury prayed to Nocturna that she was safe together with his beloved Icarus and all of the others.

''What are we going to do now?'' asked Aurora her wings tightly wrapped around her body.

''Don't worry'', Lucretia assured her yet sounded not really optimistic. "We'll find a solution.''

"Hopefully, quickly.''

Orion looked worriedly at the wooden grating that blocked the entrance. "It's been a week now'', he said. ''Soon Brutus will lose his temper and we'll lose our wings, or worse, our lives.''

"Losing our wings seems worse.''

"You may be right, Aurora. Best we don't think about it any further and rather concentrate on how we can get out of this mess,'' Lucretia said.

Easier said than done. The big gray wolf who was guarding the front of their cell was taking a nap but his shaggy fur was so close to the entrance that he would surely notice if they just tried to squeeze through between the sticks. The situation seemed hopeless.

Suddenly one of the other male elders seemed to have noticed something in the back of the cave.

''These stones here looked a bit lose so tried to moved them and then I found this.''

He showed them a small hole, big enough for a bat to crawl through with some effort.

''How come none of us noticed that before'', asked Orion.

''Well, I'm not a youngster anymore but I'm very sure that these stones I pulled off weren't lose before.''

''You think someone helped us?''

''It could be a trick from the owls.''

Lucretia walked closer and poked her head through the hole. ''I don't see any wolves or owls around on this side'', she said. ''But it feels too risky for me if we all try to escape from through here.''

''Maybe only one of us should go'', Aurora suggested.

''Good idea.''

Orion nodded. ''Agreed. And I think we all know who should be the one to go.'' He turned to Mercury and the others did the same.

The young male looked slightly surprised. ''Me? But what about you? You shouldn't be in this prison for more than you already have to.''

''Mercury,'' Orion put a hand on the younger males shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. ''I know you mean well but you are young and we are old. Our wings don't carry us fast enough like they used to. And we need a fast flyer to find help and free us from Brutus, his owls and his wolf companions.''

''I see.'' Mercury let out a sigh then nodded. ''Alright, I will go.''

''Thank you.''

''I'll try to be back as soon as I can,'' he said and crawled through the hole with the elders wishing him good luck.

Outside he took a quick glance around with his echolocation, to make sure the coast was clear and then rushed off into the forest. Not knowing that he was watched by Lieutnant Atlas who quickly reported his escape to General Brutus.

''Excellent'', he said. ''Take a patrol and follow him. He will surely lead us to the traitors.''

Atlas nodded and flew off to execute the orders of his commander.


	6. The Stream

Later, on the same night, things went on in Elysium as they have been before. No bat cried out for their missing friends and families anymore, nor did they show any signs of sorrow. Instead, they looked hopeful and happy. They truly trusted Arcadia's words that they will be reunited with their loved ones again soon. They just had to wait until they got chosen to go where the others are now. Wherever that was.

I had no idea. Nor did I know if it was a good or bad place. From the depths of my heart, I hoped Chinook, his family, and all the other missing bats were someplace safe, but it also worried me. What if they were in terrible danger? What if we might never see them again?

It kinda surprised me I felt concerned about Chinook at all. Then again, he wasn't as much as a jerk like he was when I first met him. I even thought Shade was missing him too. Even though he didn't say it.

Speaking of Shade, I wondered if he was still looking for a way out. After what happened, it wouldn't surprise me if he worked even harder now to find an escape. Arcadia wouldn't like that. Not that I care what that old hoary bat said or did it just worried me that she might did something to Shade because of what he is doing.

I frowned. That female should rather have better control over her colony. Whenever I saw a bat that didn't belong to Frieda and my friends; they urged me to tell them when and who would be chosen next. Some begged me to choose them while others began threatening me. But did the leader of Paradise do anything about it? Nope! She didn't move a single claw, although it was obvious to see how much they were pestering me. One bat even grabbed me by my arms and shook me violently to make me say what he wanted to hear. When I said I couldn't tell him when he could see his family again, he got furious and almost hit me. Luckily Icarus got by my side just on time and protected me from that guy.

After this incident, he was scared something could happen to me if I keep walking around on my own. So he decided that I should either be around him or Ariel the whole time.

Not that I liked it, but what could I do? There was no way I could protect myself against angry bats without their help. But at least I was allowed to leave our roost at all. After a few hours, however, I felt the need to be alone for a few minutes to sort out my thoughts. But Icarus refused to let me out of his sight. Therefore, snuck away after sunrise, right after making sure he was fast asleep, in order to go for a quick walk. I was glad that I managed to climb down the tree without crashing or waking him up.

Down on the ground I walked around, trying to be as quiet as I could. With my eyes flitting around, I hoped I wouldn't bump into anyone who would beg or treat me to tell them what they wanted to hear.

I wasn't even out of sight of the oak tree when I heard a voice calling my name right behind me. Startled, I stopped on the spot and felt a nervous tingling in my neck. Did Icarus wake up after all? But as the voice called for me a second time, I was reassured to know that it couldn't be him. Relieved, I turned around and watched Marina flying towards me, her bright fur shining in the sun's light that shone through the glass roof into the forest.

''What are you doing out here so late?'' she asked.

''Oh, I couldn't sleep and thought a little walk would do me good.''

''Alone?'' Marina frowned and glanced briefly up the oak tree as if she expected to see Icarus coming out as well.

I sighed. ''He's asleep,'' I told her, ''and no, I did not tell him what I'm doing.''

''You should have!'' she said. ''After all, he is just trying to protect you.''

''I know. I just wanted to be alone for a moment. Besides its Morning and everyone is asleep so no one can hurt me.''

''Well, I'm awake as you can see. And maybe some of the others are too. This place isn't like how things are outside remember? We may still sleep through the day but we can also fly around without having to fear the wrath of the owls.''

''I know'', I said meekly and looked away. ''So what now? You want to take me back to the roost?''

She sighed. ''No. But I won't let you walk around on your own either.''

I smiled a bit and let her accompany me on my walk through the forest.

''How come you are awake Marina?'' I asked after a while. ''Yesterday was quite a long night. Aren't you tired?''

''A bit'', she said, suppressing a yawn. ''But to be honest I was looking for Shade.''

I blinked. ''Isn't he with his mother?''

Marina shook her head. ''No that's why I'm looking for him. Like you, I couldn't sleep and wanted to talk to him but I couldn't find him at his and Ariel's roost.''

''I see.''

Together we wandered around some more until we reached the stream. The water was glittering in the morning sun and on its grassy bank was Shade. With his head supported in his hands, he sat there and looked down on the surface of the water, lost in his thoughts.

''There you are!'' cried Marina, startling the Silverwing. He barely managed not to drop into the water and turned to us with surprise in his gaze.

''Marina? Vanessa? What are you guys doing here this late?''

''We could ask you the same'', said Marina and I followed her over to Shade.

''I was just thinking,'' he explained, his eyes turning back to the stream.

''About what?'' Marina tilted her head then let out a deep sigh. ''Let me guess. You are still looking for a way out?!''

''So what? Apparently, no one else is concerned about what happened to the other bats.''

''That's not true,'' Marina said. ''We are all worried.''

''Yeah.'' I agreed. ''Though this building is much bigger than this forest. The other humans might just brought them into another forest because this one was getting full or something.''

''Can you be sure that this is what happened to the others?'' Shade asked. However, since I did not give him a suitable answer, he continued talking. ''Don't you guys want to know what happens before you get to be chosen next?'' He had a point there. But Marina was shaking her head.

''Shade...'' she began but he interrupted her.

''Aren't you missing Chinook?'' he asked mockingly and I saw, how she angrily laid back her ears.

''Of course, I do,'' she said coldly, ''He is my friend and yours too. If you like it or not.''

''Well let me think about it. He bullied me my whole life, stole my food, called me a runt. ... '' Shade took a deep breath. ''Yeah, I do miss him. Which is why I need to know where he and the rest of the stolen bats are. What if they are in terrible danger?''

''You don't know that. Besides, there is no way for us to get out and search for them.''

''Maybe there is.''

Marina and I looked at each other. Wondering what he was talking about.

''What do you mean?''

''Just follow me.'' Giving us no other choice Shade flew off and led us to the end of the room where the stream narrowed and entered into a wall. We landed back on the ground and watched how the water disappeared into a tunnel carved into the stone with only a narrow gap of air above.

''Remember how all the insects come from those holes in the walls? Well, they are obviously too small for us to fit through. But this here should work. It might be risky though. But if we keep our noses up we can get enough air to make it through the tunnel.''

''Hold your wings here,'' Marina said and made a time out sign with her hands. ''You are not really suggesting for us to get into the stream.''

''Its the only way. Believe me, I've been looking for a better one but there isn't.''

''Are you out of your roost? None of us can swim and there is no way to breathe.''

''Actually Marina I can swim,'' I said. ''Only my stamina isn't so high.''

''Which means you could easily drown as well.'' She shook her head. ''No Shade this is too dangerous.'' But the Silverwing wasn't giving up.

''I know it's dangerous but we have no other options left besides waiting until we get taken. But when will that happen? Tomorrow? Next week? In a month or even next year?'' He shook his head. ''No, I'm not waiting this long. I would rather try my luck with the stream.''

''You must be really out of your roost.''

''You don't have to come with me you know.''

''Come on we both know you would just mess things up if I'm not there. No, I'm coming with you. But that still doesn't mean that I like it.'' She poked him in the chest and looked at him sternly but I could see the corners of her mouth twitching a little. Shade smiled briefly as well. Glad that Marina was coming with him. I looked down at the water. The current wasn't going too fast. But that could be deceptive. Besides, who knew how long the tunnel was or if there was something in it that was letting the water through but not us. With fear, I thought about how I almost drowned twice during our last adventure. An experience I did not want to repeat.

''But maybe you should stay here Vanessa.''

''Huh?'' I looked back up and saw my friends looking at me with concern. They must have noticed how uneasy I looked while glancing into the water.

''Yeah, Icarus is worried about you enough because the other bats bothering you. It's better if you wait here until we come back.''

With a frown, I crossed my arms and looked at them straight in the eyes.

''If you think you can leave me behind like you did back at Romulus place then you are wrong. I'm coming with you as well.''

''But what about Icarus?''

''What about Frieda and Ariel,'' I retorted. ''Don't you think they will be worried about you as well. Especially since she already lost you once Shade.'' The Silverwing looked away as if felt ashamed for what happened that caused him and me to get lost in a storm weeks ago during our journey to Hibernaculum with the colony. ''Either we go together or none of us goes.'' End of discussion but Shade and Marina still seemed unsure. Eventually, however they both gave in.

''Alright, we go together then,'' said Shade. ''Let's hope it works.''

I nodded and together we three stepped closer to the edge of the stream. For a moment we just stood there, watching the rushing water. I would lie if I say I wasn't scared and I knew my friends felt the same. But before any of us could change their mind we jumped into the water.

The moment I dunk into the wet surface, I knew we made a terrible mistake. The current drove us faster than expected into the tunnel. Like bullets, we shot through the entrance. Above us, hardly a breath of air. Desperately I tried to keep my head above water, but was repeatedly pulled down and whirled around. To swim on my own was impossible. Squeezing my eyes together I held my breath, hoping this would end as soon as possible.

Something bumped against me as I was pulled through the water. Shade? Marina? I had no idea. My chest felt like it was about to burst. My lungs were screaming for oxygen. I couldn't take this much longer. Next, I got twirled around once more, spinning around my own axis, and finally, I burst head out of the water, panting and snorting. Greedily I was gasping for air and spitting water.

As soon as I had calmed down I turned around as best I could while the current drove me to the shore. To my relief, Shade and Marina's heads emerged from the surface shortly after, drifting coughing and wheezing over to me.

''Another great idea from the Lord and Master,'' said Marina sarcastically as she regained her breath and glanced at Shade reproachfully.

''I told you it was going to be risky,'' he defended himself while gasping.

I sat up. My clothes were soaking wet, the flowers on my belt hung limply down as if they had wilted. I brushed a dripping wet strand of hair from my face and looked around.

It seemed we were still in the building. Around us was a forest of conifers and deciduous trees. It looked so familiar to me that I almost believed the stream had brought us back to where we started. But that couldn't be.

''Do you think this might be the place where they took the others?'' Marina asked.

Possible. Without a second thought, Shade took a deep breath, ready to call into the forest. Immediately, Marina slapped a wet wing on his mouth.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed, "We don't even know what's in here.''

She was right. Just because this looked like the forest we came from doesn't mean there were only bats in this one too.

Shade frowned, but then nodded and threw out sound to take a closer look at our surroundings. I also looked around very carefully but couldn't see anything unusual. Just trees, leaves, and more leaves. Not a single bat far and wide. Suddenly a loud hoot broke the silence and my heart almost stopped.

Slowly I glanced at Shade. He continued staring into the forest, his eyes wide open. Marina looked in the same direction. She was as pale as a corpse and indicated me not to make a sound.

Like in slow motion, I turned around and looked into the top branches of the trees near the stream. Then I saw them. Owls. At least three dozen sat scattered on the trees. Their eyes closed and their feathered wings pressed against their bodies. Apparently, they were asleep. The one I've heard must be further back. Which meant that there had to be many more owls in this forest. Just great!

''We need to go back'', said Marina with a hushed tone.

Shade and I nodded but when we looked we noticed that the current had brought us too far away from the tunnel.

''Great what now?''

''We need to fly.''

Furtively, the three of us crawled further ashore where we shook the water from our hair and fur as quiet as we could. Actually, it would be better if my two bat friends waited until they were dry but there was no time. Hopefully, they didn't get too soaked. Especially since they had to drag me around.

Clumsily, Shade jumped into the air and had to flap his wings hard to stay up. Marina did the same, then each of them took me by my hands, and together we flew back to the tunnel we came through. But as soon as we got there it was clear that we could forget the idea of swimming through there again. The water came shooting out of the opening with foam at the edges. I remembered how violently I got whirled around when we went through it before and how I almost ran out of air.

Under no circumstances would we manage to make it through it in the opposite direction. Especially not alive.

Shade looked at Marina and me. ''I'm sorry,'' he said.

Marina trembled with rage. ''I can't believe I let you do this.''

''You didn't have to...''

''Just think about it, okay, because...''

''Bats!''

The first thing I saw was legs. Amazingly long legs hanging down as if they had no bones, but with four claws at the ends, ready to rip everything apart. The owl came crashing down on us like a big head with wings, with an open beak and screeching to wake up the forest.

Immediately Shade and Marina raced sideways into a dense weave of branches. I still caught between them. My feet were barely a hair's breadth away from the owl's beak.

Bats!'' the owl shrieked once more. ''They have a small human with them!''

Everywhere around us the owls woke up and within seconds the air was whipped by wings. Because of all the talons, legs, wings, and feathers, I soon didn't know where was up and where was down and I just held on tight to Shade and Marina. It was only a matter of seconds before one of them would catch and eat us.

There I spotted a knothole in a tree, too small for the owls but big enough for the three of us. ''Guys over there!'' I stretched out my leg and pointed my foot towards the tree. Seconds later we threw ourselves through the knothole and almost knocked ourselves unconscious on the inner wall.

''Back!'' Shade yelled and we flinched away from the opening just as a female owl pushed her beak through and snapped at us. Her hard, sharp tongue shook as she screamed angrily.

Shade, Marina, and I squeezed ourselves against the wall at the far end and watched as the owl pressed her flat face against the knothole and stared down at us with a huge, sparkling eye.

''Why are we here?" she shrieked.

I blinked in confusion. ''I don't know what you...''

"Are we to remain imprisoned until we die, is that your plan?''

''What do you mean with plan?'' Marina asked.

The owl's eye narrowed threateningly. "Your plan with the humans. Yes, we know all about it. You asked them to fight by your side, and now you're holding us prisoner in this building.''

''No, that's not true,'' Shade protested. ''We...''

''Tell us how to get out of here!'' demanded the owl.

''We don't know how to get out!"

''Oh, yeah? Then how did you get in here?''

Worried, we looked at each other, uncertain about what to tell her. The truth that we came out through the stream from a forest full of bats surely wasn't a good idea. Even though we saw that a way back through the tunnel was practically impossible. Yet we were not willing to take any risks.

Even if the owls could make it against the current, the tunnel was probably too narrow for them, I was sure of that. But still - we did not want to take that risk.

''We have nothing to do with you being trapped,'' Shade tried to explain. But The female owl was not convinced. ''A few weeks ago someone new had joined us. He said he had followed a group of bats to this place. So admit you lured him into this trap as you did with the rest of us!''

''I told you already. We have nothing to do with this!''

Desperation gnawed inside me. What were we supposed to do? Hold on! What did the owl just say? An owl came into this forest because he was following a group of bats? Of course! This could only be...

''What's going on here?'' we suddenly heard someone ask from outside and I couldn't help but grin recognizing the voice right away.

''We have captured two bats and a tiny human and interrogate them just how they got in here.''

''In that case. Let me talk to them. I will get the truth out of them.''

She seemed to hesitate, hearing his offer. ''But...''

''I insist.''

''Alright.'' And with that, she flew off. The sound of a bunch of other wings rustling, following her.

Shade, Marina, and I waited for a few heartbeats without moving from the spot. Then Orestes' big yellow eye blinked in amusedly.

"You three really have a knack for getting yourselves into trouble. ''

''We are happy to see you too,'' I said but couldn't help smiling. Together with the two bats, I climbed out of the knothole and onto the branch our feathery friend stood on.

''You can't imagine how happy we are to see you, old friend.'' Shade almost beaming with relief and Marina agreed. "You always turn up at the right time.

Orestes looked a little bashful to the side. "Oh, don't mention it. After all, you guys are my best friends.''

We were really happy to see him again. But there was no time for a cozy chat. We had to get out of here and find a good hiding place before the other owls showed up again.

''Come on guys. Let's go!'' I urged my friend. ''We need to leave before...''

''The prisoners are escaping!''

Startled, I turned around and saw a small Barred Owl. The dark eyes angrily squeezed together, it plunged towards us screeching and with outstretched talons. Shade quickly pushed Marina and me behind him while Orestes protectively spread his wings in front of us to repel the attack of the little owl. This one opened its eyes in shock but was unable to stop itself. With a dull thud, the two owls collided with each other. Had the attacker been bigger, Orestes would have been swept from the branch. Fortunately, in this case, he was still able to keep his balance.

The Barred Owl, on the other hand, staggered somewhat dazed and almost fell down if Orestes had not grabbed it in time and pulled it back on its feet.

''Everything all right?'' he asked concerned.

The little owl shook its head, then blinked at him. I noticed that it was a female and a quite young one at that. She had probably only recently lost her downy plumage and was not fully grown yet. She had big dark eyes, which were white framed and a brown and white spotted plumage.

''Oh, I'm so sorry'', she said, not sounding as aggressive as before. ''I didn't mean to crash into you, your majesty.''

 _''Majesty?''_ Confused, I looked up to Orestes, but his face revealed nothing.

"It's all right," he said with a friendly smile at the young owl. "Nothing happened.''

''Oh, gosh, when the others find out that I almost... Please forgive me. I'll never do it again. I promise. Next time, I'll watch where I'm going. I swear.''

Now Orestes did look a little uncomfortable as the little owl bowed her head in front of him while asking for forgiveness.

''Uh, like I said. It's fine. No need to worry about it.''

''Ok. What's going on here?'' Shade hissed, watching the scene.

I just shrugged having no clue as well. Then she looked past Orestes and discovered us three still standing behind him.

''The prisoners! Quick sir, we need to stop them before they escape.'' She tried rushing over to us screeching angrily but Orestes stopped her again.

''No, wait they aren't escaping. I ... uh- '' He thought for a moment. ''I was just about to interrogate them, that's all.''

"Then I disturbed you?'' The little owl's eyes grew big again. "I'm terribly sorry, Your Highness. I should have paid more attention.''

''Like I said. It's fine. Stuff like that happens. No harm done.'' He looked around as if expecting to see more owls around. ''Now, if you would be so kind and leave me alone with the captives so I can continue with my interrogation ... uhm... ''

''My name's Winnie sir'', she said eagerly.

''Well then, Winnie. I need to continue asking these three about the whereabouts of the missing owls.''

''Oh, ok then I better leave. Goodbye, sir. '' She bowed before him one more time then flew off into the forest. I could still hear her muttering about how sorry she was for bumping into Orestes.

''What was that just now?'' asked Shade.

Orestes sighed. ''Honestly. I have no idea. But since I came in here the other owls treat me like I'm some kind of prince or something.''

''I thought your father was a general?'' I asked.

''He is. Which is why I'm confused about this like you are. Not even my father's soldiers have ever spoken to me with such respect. Especially when my father wasn't around. They are probably mistaking me for someone else.''

Possible.'' said marina and thoughtfully tilted her head.

I found the whole thing quite strange but at the moment there were more important things to worry about.

''Orestes you just said that other owls have disappeared?!''

He nodded. "That's right. Two days ago I woke up briefly and noticed a strange sweet smell in the air. The next evening we noticed that almost hundreds of our fellow owls were missing.''

Shade, Marina, and I looked at each other knowingly.

''The humans must have taken them. Just like they took the other Bats,'' said Shade.

''What are you talking about?''

Quickly we told Orestes about Arcadia, the missing bats, and how we got in here. When mentioning the speed of the current, he shook himself.

''That was quite risky. You could have been killed,'' he said.

''We know,'' Marina gave Shade a meaningful look.

"Hey, I told you before, you and...''

"Guys, can we please fight later?" I interrupted him. "We'd better hide before anyone else sees us.''

Marina nodded. "'She's right. Let's get out of here.''

And with that Orestes bent down a little so I could climb on his back. Afterwards, the four of us flew deeper into the forest and hid under the high roots of a pine tree.

''That should do it'', Marina said. ''For the moment at least.''

''Good.''

''Hey Vanessa, is everything alright with you?''

''Huh?'' I wasn't listening for a moment and only focused on the fact that I urgently needed to go somewhere. "I'm fine," I said quickly. "But I think I really need to go to the bathroom.''

"Oh!''

Marina looked around. ''The coast is clear for now. You might want to run into those bushes over there.''

I looked in the direction she pointed and nodded. ''All right. Wait for me here. It won't take long.''

"Don't worry," Shade assured me, "We won't go anywhere without you.

Carefully I glanced at both sides, as if I wanted to cross a street, then I ran out of our hiding place and towards the bush. Unfortunately, it was a bit too prickly for me to do my business in there undisturbed. So I ran a little further. Always on the lookout not to get caught by any owls. After I could finally relieve myself I wanted to go back to my friends, but before that, I wanted to wash my hands. The only question was: Where?

There, I heard the quiet gurgling of the stream close to me and ran towards it. Once again I checked if the air was clean before I stepped out of the protecting thicket and headed for the bank.

Apparently, I was at the other end of the creek than where I and my friends were washed in. Here too, there was a tunnel opening in the wall. But the water did not flow in but out.

 _''Maybe this could be our way out of here.''_ I thought. Marina surely would be anything but thrilled but we had much better chances to go with the current than against it. Besides, we had already managed it once before and there was no other way out. However, the question was whether Orestes would fit through.

Never mind. I knew I shouldn't stay there too long and rather go back to my friends before anyone else would see me. But when I turned around, I noticed an owl sitting in the tree nearby. Not Orestes, but also not the young owl Winnie.

Quickly I ducked into the grass and hoped that the owl had not yet spotted me.

It seemed I was lucky. The owl appeared not to have noticed me yet. It just sat there on its branch while turning its head back and forth.

Hectically I wondered if I could make it back into the thicket. But then the owl let out a piercing screech and dashed down.

With shock, I realized that it had seen me before and just measured the distance before deciding to attack.

''Crap!''

There was no time. I need to do something otherwise the owl would catch me.

Panic-fuelled I glanced back and forth between the bushes at the edge of the forest and the flowing water next to me.

The owl got closer. Its talons spread wide open, ready to grab me. Right before it caught me I jumped into the cold water. Almost immediately was I grabbed by the current and swept away through the tunnel in the wall.

It all happened so fast I didn't even have time to hold my breath. Water was flowing into my lungs. I choked and coughed and swallowed even more water. I nearly blacked out. Just then the turbulence subsided, and I broke through the surface.

Weakly, I paddled to the shore and collapsed on the ground, coughing and wheezing. Once I spat out all the water I remained lying there completely exhausted.

Once again I had barely escaped drowning. Hopefully, this wouldn't become a habit.

After a few minutes, I started feeling better and I was able to sit up. That was when I noticed the heat - a wild, all-pervading heat that hung like mist in the air and seemed to stick to my skin. All around me were trees that were different from those in the forest of owls and bats, and which should not exist at all in these climates. At least not in the wild. There were huge palm trees and vines hanging around. Gigantic leaves and flowers in all kinds of shapes and colors. Somewhere there was the sound of a rushing waterfall, and I almost had the feeling of being in a tropical house in a zoo. Well, this forest was certainly not real. But I also didn't believe that all these artificially created forests belonged to a zoo. It just didn't feel right. The air was so muggy and hot that I wanted to jump back into the water to cool myself down. But I decided against it.

Carefully I looked around, wondering what kind of animal would be waiting for me in here. Apart from the sound of water and the pleasant chirping of an insect I couldn't hear anything suspicious. Nevertheless, it was probably better to hide somewhere, than to continue to sit in the middle of a clearing.

At least it was still daytime. This way I could see better and maybe the inhabitants of this forest were sleeping right now. At least I hoped so.

Slowly I walked towards the undergrowth while looking anxiously around. The further I moved away from the stream the more nervous I got. I almost had the feeling that I knew what was waiting for me here, but that couldn't be. They were dead. Both of them. I was sure of it. Still. The further I walked the more I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me.

A rustling above my head eventually made me stop. Yet when I looked up there was nothing to see. And I did not like that. Even less did I like to walk around here alone. "I'd better get out of here.'' I thought fearfully. I would rather try my luck with the stream one more time, hoping to make it out this time then keep walking through this tropical forest.

Carefully I looked around to make sure that no one saw me then turned around to the direction I came from. I had not moved even one step when I felt a hand resting on my shoulder. As if frozen, I stopped on the spot and did not even dare to move a muscle. My breath turned shallow as I felt the grip on my shoulder tighten. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a face coming close to me. With my heart beating fast and my eyes wide open, I watched a long snout opening up to reveal a grinning set of razor-sharp teeth, which then opened to whisper something into my ear.

Just one word.

''Hola!''


	7. The Nightmare returns

''What's taking her so long?''

Shade, Marina, and Orestes were waiting for at least an hour. But so far Vanessa still hasn't returned to them.

''Do you think something has happened to her?'' Orestes asked anxiously.

''I hope not.''

''She just wanted to disappear for a moment in the bushes over there. That shouldn't take so long. Better I take a look.''

Shade was about to fly off when Marina held him by the arm.

"Not so fast. You know why she had to leave for a moment, so maybe I should go check on her.''

''But...'' he sighed ''Alright.''

Marina nodded and then quickly flew over into the bushes. But Vanessa was nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, Marina picked up her trail and followed her through the thicket and down to the stream. There she couldn't find a clue to where her friend might be, till her eyes fell on a dark grey owl feather on the ground.

_"Great Nocturna, no!''_

Marina immediately feared the worst and asked herself how Vanessa could be so reckless and leave the protective thicket. But then her eyes fell on something in the water. Bending over she picked it up and looked at it more closely. It was one of the small flowers that Vanessa had wrapped around her hips. But what was it doing in the water? Could it be that she...

Marina took one last look at the flowing water, then turned around and hurried back to the others.

* * *

''Are you sure Marina?''

The Brightwing nodded. ''I followed her trail up to the stream. There I found a feather of an owl and one of the flowers from her skirt in the water.''

''So you are saying she jumped into the water?'' asked Orestes.

''Either that or an owl caught her and that flower fell off.''

I rather think she jumped into the water to escape the owl,'' said Marina ''At the place where I lost her scent, the stream was flowing through a tunnel as well. That must have given her the idea. She wouldn't have had time to run back into the undergrowth. The owl would certainly have caught her before.

Orestes nodded ''That's right.'' he agreed with her.

''Well, what are we waiting for then?'' Shade looked at his two friends questioningly. "Come on, we gotta go after her. Who knows what place she got out.''

''We know Shade, but maybe she has made it outside or got back to the others.''

Shade wasn't so sure. He preferred to follow Vanessa to be certain that she was safe.

"And what if the owl did get her?" Orestes considered.

"We can't dig up the entire forest for her.''

''Then we'll have to take our chances with the stream. Come on, guys!'' Without waiting for any objections, Shade flew off through the forest and down to the stream.

Once there, he wasted no time and threw himself right into the chilly water. At once the current took hold of him and pulled him mercilessly with it. Unable to see more than blurry images Shade was pushed through the tunnel. He had no idea if Marina and Orestes had followed him, but he hoped they would all arrive safely.

Finally, the nightmare was over and Shade's head burst out of the water, gasping. Coughing and spitting, he struggled to paddle to the shore and lifted himself out of the water. A movement behind him made him flinch briefly. But it was only Marina who emerged from the water, closely followed by Orestes. Both greedily inhaling the much-needed air.

''You really can't even wait for two seconds," Marina said, glancing at Shade reproachfully.

Orestes collapsed on the sandy ground, panting. "Gosh, what a trip. Can we please agree that we will not do this again? Thank you.''

Marina wrung the water out of her blond hair and looked around. ''Uh, boys. Where are we?''

Following her gaze Shade took a look at their surroundings and was more than surprised by the sight of the strange world that stretched out in front of them. It was a forest. But not like those he knew and lived in the north. This one was ... different. It had trees Shade had never seen before. They were incredibly large and covered in moss and long thick vines that wrapped around the trunks as if they wanted to strangle them while others hung casually down from the branches. On the ground, flowers bloomed vibrantly in lost of different colors. Each of them larger than Shade's own body. And the heat.

The moment Shade shook the water out of his fur he felt a displeasing warmth surrounding his body. It reminded him of the hottest summer nights at Tree-Heaven, only worse.

He could hear the sound of a splashing waterfall deeper n the forest and the chirping of several insects. But besides that, it was rather quiet. Too quiet for his taste.

''What animal do you think lives here?'' Orestes asked. He had shaken the water out of his feathers and now looked like a puff flower. Shade would have laughed at his sight if the situation wasn't so severe.

''Maybe the humans are still waiting to fill it'', marina suggested.

''Maybe.'' Shade kept looking around. Although he knew he had never been to such a place, the surroundings still seemed terribly familiar. Like someone had told him about it. Painted with words into his memory.

''I don't like this,'' said Marina, ''We should find Vanessa as soon as possible and get the hell out of here.''

Shade nodded. He knew she was right even though part of him wanted to take a closer look at these strange plants.

''Guys!''

At Orestes' call, Shade turned around in alarm. His feathery friend pointed to the stream with the tip of his wing. A figure inside darkened the water and came closer and closer before it broke through to the surface.

Winnie.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mercury was searching all night for the snow-white Kermode bear. He was scared that owls or wolves could attack him at any time, and he had searched almost every imaginable place. It was frustrating. A big bear like her could not simply make herself invisible. He just had to keep looking.

When morning dawned he had no choice but to look for a roost. He was tired from flying so long and his stomach was growling as if he hadn't eaten for nights.

Partly that was true. He had refused to eat the insects the owls 'generously' offered them and insisted that the elders ate them instead.

He would be fine, he had said, and if necessary feed on the fat reserves he had gathered for hibernation. He knew that this could be dangerous. If he went to his fat reserves beforehand, he would have nothing left to get safely through hibernation. Whether it would come to such a thing this time he doubted a little bit. Normally they all should have been asleep already. He, his mate Icarus, the elders, and all the other Silverwings plus their newest member the Brightwing female Marina. Except for Vanessa.

As a human, she was excluded from hibernation and the thought of it made Mercury rather happy that this was no ordinary winter this year.

Hopefully, she was alright, and Icarus and the others as well.

If only he would finally find Ursa. He just had to. Who knew what Brutus would do to the elders once he finds out that one of his captives had managed to escape.

Mercury headed towards an old elm tree, hoping to find a place to roost and rest for the day. As a sound caught his attention. With his keen ears, he listened more closely and send out sound waves until he spotted something big and furry on the other side of the tree.

He landed on the bark and carefully crawled around the tree till he was close enough to see what that big, white, furry thing was.

He almost couldn't believe his luck. Before him was a bear. A female white Kermode bear with an orange tag on her left ear. This could only be Ursa. It had too. She was by far the only white black-bear known in the forest.

Right now her back was turned to him and she seemed to be brooding about something while painting pictures into the frozen ground with her claw.

Despite his exhausted state, he fluttered in front of her face to capture her attention.

''Ursa,'' he said, ''My name is Mercury Silverwing and I am in need of your help.''

* * *

With shock and disbelieve, Shade, Marina, and Orestes watched the young barred owl arrive at the shore. Coughing she staggered to the shore and shook the water out from her feathers before glaring hatefully at the bats.

''Thought you could escape, huh? Forget it!'' She turned to Orestes and nodded to him. "Don't worry, your highness, I have come to your aid. The others will be here soon.''

He just stared at her.

''I wouldn't be so sure about that'', Marina said, ''They are too big to fit through.''

Now the little one seemed a bit insecure. "D-doesn't matter." she stammered. "You are just two. We can deal with you. Right, your Highness?!''

''Would you please stop calling me that'', Orestes asked. ''I'm not royalty. There is a big misunderstanding.''

She starred at him confused. ''Huh? But of course. You are ...''

Could we continue this conversation some other time, Shade interrupted her. His gaze nervously flitting back and forth. "I think we're being watched.''

"You're just making that up to distract us.''

"No, Winnie," Orestes sighed, "Listen, Shade and Marina are not our enemies.''

She frowned not understanding what he means. "But they killed pigeons and owls.''

''No, we didn't!'' Shade was getting tired of hearing that all the time. ''No northern bat has killed any birds. The killers came from the south. Huge cannibal bats that were after my colony.''

''And you expect me to believe that?''

''It's true,'' Orestes confirmed. "I saw them myself.''

''But don't worry,'' Shade continued. ''They're dead now, and can't harm anyone anymore.''

"Well, I feel very much alive.''

With a gasp, they spun around and saw Throbb grinning at them while hanging upside down from a branch right behind them.

_''Sweet Nocturna...''_

Shade couldn't believe it. Throbb was alive. This couldn't be true. On the other hand, maybe he wasn't as badly wounded from his fight with Orestes as they had hoped. But what was he doing here? And was his cousin here as well? No, that was impossible. There was no way he had survived the fall from the waterfall. He and Vanessa barely made it themselves. So what...

''Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear amigo Shade Silverwing. His Brightwing friend and the Owl. What a welcoming surprise to see you all here.''

Shade's heart skipped a beat. That voice. He recognized it immediately and wished he was wrong. But as he looked up, his eyes saw none other than Goth himself. The Vampyrum was kneeling with one leg on the branch where Throbb was hanging. His chin propped up on his right hand with his elbow resting on his knee. The other hand hidden behind the trunk.

Maliciously, he grinned down at Shade and his friends. ''What aren't you happy to see me? How unfortunate.''

Shade was speechless. This had to be a nightmare. Goth couldn't be alive. It was impossible. On the other hand, he had already survived a deadly electric shock before. Yet Shade had felt so sure that this time it was different. How could fate be so cruel?

''Uh, Shade, here!'' He turned to see Orestes handing him a flower.

''What..?''

''Well, you said that if Goth's still alive you would ...'' Shade threw a meaningful glance at Orestes. ''Uh, nevermind'', he replied and threw the flower away.

''I have no idea what you guys are talking about down there,'' Goth said. ''But it's nice to see you are already picking flowers for your grave.'' He chuckled and his yellow eyes sparkled in the light of the sun.

What confused Shade the most was that Goth looked the same as he did when they first met. His hair was long and well-groomed and his fur and wings were free of any wounds or scars. Throbb also looked completely unharmed. As if the incident at the power station and the fight at the waterfall never happened. How was that possible? Did the humans have something to do with this? Did they heal them? It had to. Why else would they be here?

He wished Vanessa was here. She could tell him if her kind was capable of such a miracle.

As if Goth had read Shades' mind, he addressed him directly. ''If you and your compañeros are wondering why I'm not surprised to see your little human friend is not with you. Well, that's simply because... She already met us.'' Goth rose up and pulled something from behind the trunk.

Shade gasped in horror as he recognized Vanessa in the cannibal's grip.

''Guys!'' She tried to free herself but Goth's grip on her wrist was just too strong.

''How generous of the almighty Zotz to not only heal me from my wounds but also send you four here for me to get my revenge.'' His gaze wandered to the young barred owl, who was hiding behind Orestes. Her eyes widen in fear at the sight of the large bats. ''And look at that. You even brought a dessert.'' He laughed viciously, causing the small she-owl to grow pale.

''Don't you dare touch her,'' growled Shade, trying to sound braver than he actually felt. "Release Vanessa and leave us alone.''

Goth tilted his head. Completely unimpressed. "And what if I don't? Are you gonna attack me then or what?''

Seeking help, Shade looked around. There had to be something he could do. Maybe if he created an echo projection, fearful enough to distract the cannibals, they could rescue Vanessa and get out of here as quickly as possible.

''If you think you can save yourself and your friends with some tricks, _enano_ , then I'm afraid to disappoint you.'' Goth glared at him. ''I will certainly not fall for any of that anymore.''

''We have to do something'', Marina said. Shade knew she was right. But that was easier said than done.

''Well then'' Goth flicked his claws. ''Enough talking. Time to eat.''

With his eyes widen Shade watched how Goth threw Vanessa from the branch. Fortunately, Orestes acted immediately and caught her with his back. At that point, Throbb pounced on him while Goth was targeting him and Marina. Only with luck did Shade manage to jump out of the cannibal's range. With whirling wings, he plunged into the undergrowth, hoping to lose Goth in there somehow. But after a quick glance over his shoulder, he realized that he wasn't following him at all. Instead, the Vampyrum was about to charge at Winnie, who was still standing on the same spot, terrified to death.

Without thinking twice, Shade raced towards them, slipped in front of Goth, and threw an echo image in his face - the skeleton of a human with a masked face and sparkling eye slits, reaching out to grab him.

With a horrified scream, Goth flinched back.

''Fly away!'' Shade shouted to Winnie. She didn't need to be told twice. In a feathery whirl of wings, she was gone. Shade whipped the air and turned over Goth's head as his sound illusion dissolved.

Not far away from him, he saw Marina vanishing behind a dense umbrella of leaves. But there was no sign of Orestes or Vanessa. Neither could he see Throbb anywhere.

Shade prayed to Nocturna that his friends were safe while desperately looking for a place to hide. Behind him, he heard Goth howling with rage but he didn't dare to turn around. He kept going deeper and deeper into the thicket and almost collided with Marina, who was hiding behind some ferns. Wordlessly they flew further down and finally hung themselves up behind huge leaves with rounded corners. There they were almost completely hidden.

''I can't believe they are alive.'' whispered marina, the horror still written on her face.

''Me neither,'' he replied and only now realized that he was trembling. He had so hoped they got rid of the two giant bats once and for all.

''Funny how Orestes remembered your bet.''

He frowned. ''That's really not the time for that Marina.''

''I know.'' she chuckled softly. ''At least you didn't say you would marry Chinook or something.''

 _''Seriously?''_ Shade just stared at her, but before he could say anything the leaves above their heads were swept aside by a purple-colored wing and Goth pounced on them headfirst.

At that moment Winnie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped at the cannibal. Completely taken by surprise, Goth staggered to the side giving Shade and Marina the opportunity to escape. On their flight through the forest, Shade almost collided with a human.

The human was dressed in white and hooded. He ignored him and Marina and walked through the thicket. In his hand he held a long pole with a net. Just like the ones who took the other bats the day before. Shade spun around and watched as the human lifted the metal pole high into the air. There was a sharp crackling sound and Goth plunged into the net. A second human appeared from the other side of the thicket, hit Winnie with his stick, and bagged her as she dropped down lifelessly.

Then they put both of them into metal cages as another human appeared. To his horror, Shade saw that Orestes was in his net.


	8. An unforgettable sight

The moment Goth tossed me from the branch, I let out a scream, not having expected him to do that. Luckily, Orestes caught me in time before I smashed on the ground. But he got attacked by Throbb, causing me to be thrown off once more.

Fortunately, I landed in a thick bush that cushioned my impact. As I had fought my way out of there I looked around for my friends. Orestes was still fighting Throbb in the air, but there was no trace of Shade and Marina. Goth and Winnie were also missing.

 _''They must've gone deeper into the forest'',_ I thought and hoped my friends found a good hiding spot from Goth. Speaking of it. I knew I should find one too. If only I hadn't jumped into the stream, we all wouldn't be here now. How could it be that these two were still alive?

Suddenly the ground trembled a little, announcing the arrival of heavy footsteps. Looking up, I saw a human male walking through the fake rainforest. From head to toe dressed in a white protective suit. He was holding a silver cage in one hand something that looked like a long dip net in the other.

Compared to me, this guy was a giant. Like a mountain he towered above me, his gaze wandering around as if he was looking for something. Soon after, Throbb and Orestes stumbled into the clearing, still engaged in combat. The man uttered a surprised cry as he saw them and turned his net around. Its end sizzling dangerously. Orestes managed to throw Throbb into the thicket with a violent flap of his wings, but then got hit by the metal bar and dropped like a stone into the net at the other end.

Seeing this I gasped and quickly hid deeper behind some leaves, not wanting this guy to see me. He put the unconscious owl into the cage and then looked around, most likely searching for Throbb. I moved a bit, accidentally causing a leaf to rustle, which caught the man's attention. He crouched down and peered in my direction. The sunlight reflected the transparent visor of his head, so it was difficult to see his face. I hoped that he didn't see me and just stood where I was, like glued to the spot, holding my breath.

 _''Now I know how Jack must have felt when he met the giant''_ , I thought and waited anxiously for the man to either look somewhere else or find and grab me.

''Russell!'' somebody called, and the man looked up, facing the direction the voice was coming from.

''Over here, Kyle. I just got one of the owls, but the bat got into hiding.''

''Forget it! We can get it later. The first cargo must leave today.''

''Yeah, I know. I know.'' With a groan, he rose, grabbed his dip net, and the cage with Orestes inside, and walked off. I gasped and run after the man, not wanting him to take Orestes away, but got stopped before I could even leave my hiding place.

''Where do you think you are going, señjorita?'' Throbb asked, my arm locked in his grasp. I tried to pull myself free, but the Vampyrum's grip was too strong.

''Let go!'' I commanded. ''Don't you see that we have to follow this man. He got Orestes.''

''What do I care about your feathered friend? Goth would only blame me for letting you go. And I really have no desire for that.''

"You...'' Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed the man from before meeting two other guys dressed in white protective suits. Together they headed towards the edge of the forest. The other two also had cages with them. In one of them lay Winnie, in the other Goth.

''Forget your cousin's anger,'' I said, nodding ahead. ''They're taking him away right now.''

Eyes wide, Throbb let go of my arm and stared after the men. ''What? No! No no. Where are they taking him?''

''No clue, but look if we follow them we get out of here and figure it out.''

Throbb looked unsure between me and the men.

''Come on. Or do you want to be here all by yourself? Because I'm definitely leaving.'' With that, I turned around and raced towards the three men. Only four steps later, I was grabbed by the shoulders and lifted into the air. ''What the ...? Hey, put me down!'' I protested, but Throbb didn't listen.

''¡Cállate!'' He hissed and fluttered after the humans with me dangling in his talons.

As they approached the stone wall, a hidden door opened with a hiss, giving access to an exit. Without losing time, Throbb followed them quickly through the opening and as unnoticed as possible. I almost twisted my neck trying to look back and watch the door close with a vacuuming sound. Hopefully, Marina and Shade had also taken advantage of the moment and were not trapped inside. Otherwise, I would have to think of something to get them out. But first, Orestes and Winnie needed my help. And since Goth and Throbb were out here with me, Shade and Marina were safe.

On the other side, we found ourselves in a bare, white-painted corridor. On the ceiling hung at regular intervals tubular lamps whose light illuminated the walls and the equally bright floor. With this brightness, they would discover Throbb and me in no time. There I spotted an open ventilation shaft in the ceiling with a lonely ladder below. Probably left there for some repairs. I guided Throbb over to the shaft and didn't allow myself to breathe until we were safely inside.

After he set me down, I leaned my back against one of the metal walls and let out a deep sigh in relief. ''Gosh, I'm so glad nobody saw us.'' I could only imagine what kind of turmoil that would have caused. A Vampyrum Spectrum on the loose and a shrunken human girl. Nope, it was good no one noticed us. And to make sure it stood that way we needed to keep moving.

''Now what?'' asked Throbb while I glanced around until I spotted that the tunnel we were inside lead ahead and around a corner.

''Let's move that way'', I said.

Throbb huffed and muttered something under his breath. I couldn't understand it since it was Spanish but I had the feeling that it wasn't a compliment.

We moved along the corridor until at one point light penetrated through another ventilation grille into the tunnel. Carefully, we got closer to it and peered down. Beneath us, about three dozen men and women dressed in white lab coats were scurrying around. They were inside a vast laboratory, which, like the corridor, was kept completely in white. On the walls there were all kinds of machines and shelves, and in the middle stood two rows of long tables that took up the entire room. On top of these were glass boxes that were connected to each other with holes on the sides for the scientists to put their hands through.

''Dios mio!'' said Throbb ''What's going on down there?''

I wondered why he looked so worried all of the sudden. There were just a bunch of scientists working on some kind of project. With a frown, I bowed down a little deeper, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was going on when a bloodcurdling scream hit my eardrum, literally knocking me over. Before I could even ask what that was, I heard another scream followed by wailing and sobbing. But looking down again, I saw anything disturbing. The Scientists just kept working as if nothing was wrong. Did they not hear the screams and cries for help?

What was going on down there?

I kept looking around until I glimpsed something moving in one of the glass boxes. It was a bat. But I couldn't tell if I knew it or not. Two scientists sat opposite the box and reached through the holes in the glass with gloved hands. The bat tried to get away. But one of them got hold of it and held it backward on the ground, while the other one grabbed a small razor. What followed was a whirring noise, combined with a startled cry from the bat.

Paralyzed, I watched how the scientist exchanged the razor for two different objects. One looked like a small metal button, the other was a sharp needle. The captured bat tried to free itself, but its situation was hopeless. Without warning, they inserted the needle into the bare skin on the bat's belly. Its cries and pleas for mercy ignored.

It was horrible.

Over and over again, the poor creature got stabbed in order to sew the button-like object onto its belly. Then the scientist who was performing the cruel work picked up another device. Something which looked like pliers which he held to the bat's ear. What followed was a cry of pain so loud that I flinched. Never before had I witnessed animal cruelty. At most I had read about it or seen videos of such acts on the internet. To experience it in real life was a thousand times worse. Especially since I could clearly understand the animal's cries of fear and help. I wanted to jump down there and give those bastards a good thrashing for what they were doing plus free all the animals. But that was impossible.

''We should get out of here,'' said Throbb. His harsh gaze fixed on the humans below us.

I nodded slowly, not saying anything myself. Though I wished I could do something. If only I knew why they were doing this to them.

At the other end of the laboratory, the door opened and three men in military outfits walked inside. They were immediately spotted by one of the scientists.

''General Neal,'' he said, approaching them, ''what an honor, for you to come to us personally.''

''Professor Payton. How is work progressing on project rainstorm?''

''Good. My team has prepared almost all the selected animals for today's mission.''

_''Mission?''_

''Señjorita, come!'' called Throbb but I lifted my hand, signing him to wait while I kept listening to the two men. Wanting to know what they were talking about.

General Neal nodded. He had short white hair and a long scar on his had that run from behind his left ear down to his neck. ''Very good. But hurry up. I want the bombs to reach their targets today.''

''Don't worry, sir, they will.''

Did I just hear right? Bombs?! Did they seriously intend to use bats and owls as weapons? They couldn't do that!

''Señjorita!'' With an energetic growl, Throbb grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away from the ventilation grille. I protested a little bit, wanting to hear more details. But eventually allowed him to pull me away.

A few meters later, we discovered a hole in a wall. Through the opening, daylight and ice-cold air flooded into the tunnel. I shivered a little and rubbed my bare arms while Throbb carefully peered outside. ''Looks like this is our way out,'' he said.

I barely listened to him. My thoughts were still with the poor animals in the lab and the conversation between the two men. Why did they sew bombs onto living beings? And where were they planning to drop them? I needed to find Shade and Marina. We had to warn the others and rescue them. The only question was: How?

''Well, I know how to be ignored by Goth from time to time. But that's pretty rude.''

"'Huh?''

Throbb let out an irritated sigh. ''Señjorita, I've asked you three times already to come with me. If you don't answer me now, I'll go alone and leave you in here.''

"But we can't go", I protested.

Throbb tilted his head. ''What do you mean?'' he asked.

"We must go back and free the others'', I said.

''And how are we supposed to do that?'' He shook his head. ''Forget it, Señjorita. Wild goose couldn't drag me near that room again. You saw what your people did to those bats and owls.''

''I know,'' I looked down in shame and wished I wasn't human. Not that it changed anything about the situation. But I felt that Throbb was blaming me for what my kind was doing. And he surely wouldn't be the only one.

''Vanessa?''

Startled, we both looked in the direction of the hole and noticed Marina's bright head peeking through.

"I knew I recognized the voice. What happened? How...?'' she gasped as she spotted Throbb in the shadows.

''It's all right Marina,'' I soothed her while glancing slightly back and forth between the two bats. ''We..eh..have some sort of truce at the moment.''

Throbb raised an eyebrow. "Do we?''

''Well, you haven't tried to eat me yet. And besides...'' I quickly added before he could say something, ''There are more important things right now. We must free the other animals as quickly as possible. They are all in great danger.''

''What do you mean?'' Marina asked. Her eyes glistened with concern. ''Does it have anything to do with what those other humans were doing in that big room?''

''You know about that?''

She nodded. ''Shade and I were hiding under the cage where they had captured Orestes,'' she said, ''We tried to get him out but then we came into this room and had to hide before we were seen.''

''I see,'' I replied. But wait a second. Where was Shade anyway?

As if reading my thoughts, Marina closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing her story.

"All those screams and that terrible stench of fear. I wanted nothing more than to get out of there. But Shade insisted that we stay. He wanted to know what the humans were doing and even flew closer to get a better look.''

I suspected the worst.

"I tried to stop him, but...'' Marina paused for a moment then continued. ''One human saw him and pointed a long stick at him. It happened so fast. One moment to the next Shade was in a net and he was carried to one of those glass boxes.

''No!''

Marina did not need to tell me more. I knew from what I had witnessed what had happened to him. And I felt sick. Especially since I remembered that the same thing must have happened to Orestes. As well as with Chinook and his family.

''How did you get out?" I asked hoarsely.

''After they put Shade in a container with some other bats, another human carried him outside. I followed him and watched how he placed the container in one of the flying machines over there." She nodded over to a large open space where several military aircraft were standing next to each other. ''At first, I wanted to go there and try to free Shade but there were too many humans and I was also worried about you.''

''It's okay, Marina. I am fine,'' I said. ''But we should hurry. Frieda, Ariel, and all the others. They must be warned and leave this building immediately otherwise they will all suffer the same fate.''

''Do you know why those humans are doing all this?''

I hesitated and wondered if I should tell her about the bombs, but then decided against it and shook my head. ''The exact reason is unclear to me as well Marina. But I still don't want them to go through this ordeal.''

Throbb walked closer to the hole, causing Marina to flinch back. But the Vampyrum wasn't paying any attention to her. He simply looked outside with a frown on his face.

''If I were you, I'd hurry about what to do,'' he said. ''Looks like one of those things is about to take off.''

''What?'' Eyes widen, I leaned out and saw that he was right. Engine sounds came from the plane on the far left that Marina pointed at when she told us about what happened to Shade. We probably had barely a few seconds to decide what to do now. "Okay, listen! Marina, you fly back into the forest and warn the others. Meanwhile, Throbb and I will try to break into that plan.''

"Hold on," he protested, crossing the arms. ''Since when did I agree on helping you?''

''You didn't. But what if Goth is there too. Don't you want to safe at least him?''

This caused Throbb to go silent.

''But Vanessa. I can't leave you alone with that guy.'' She nodded over to Throbb who huffed in response and looked away.

''I will be fine. But one of us has to tell Frieda about what's going on. She will know what to do.''

Marina hesitated for a second, then nodded. ''Alright. But promise me to be careful. I don't want to lose all my friends on the same day.''

''You won't. I promise!''

After that was cleared, Throbb climbed out of the hole first. Then I followed with Marina's help and climbed onto his back. Though, this was easier said than done. Because Throbb decided to hung upside down on the outside wall I had to get on him while being upside down myself. I could feel my heart beating up to my throat at this activity. One wrong move and I would drop right to the ground. Headfirst. The fact that the cold wind was blowing my hair through my face made it no better. Fortunately, everything went well.

Afterward, Marina and I wished each other good luck, then Throbb flew off towards the departing plane while my Brightwing friend went to look for a way to get back inside the building.

* * *

**\- Meanwhile, a few moments earlier -**

With a grunt, Shade landed nose first on the bottom of the box. He tried to get up but then another bat came through the opening and fell right on top of him.

''Urgh!''

It was a Brightwing. Shade feared it was Marina. But then he realized that it was actually a young male. From the pile of fur around him, an unfamiliar Silverwing freed himself and rushed towards the Brightwing. Judging the way they hugged each other, Shade guessed that they were friends.

''Shade!''

Without warning, another bat collided with him and almost crushed him with a tight embrace. He immediately recognized the smell and when he turned his head, he also recognized the fur color and hairstyle.

''Chinook", he was honestly surprised how happy he sounded to see him here. ''Um, Chinook, do you mind if you loosen up a bit? I can hardly breathe.''

"Oh, of course. Sorry,'' He let go of Shade and took a look over his shoulder. "Hey everybody, this is Shade Silverwing! He is a great hero. He's gonna know what's going on here!''

Shade stared at him, his mouth agape. Chinook calling him a hero. Was this a joke? But Judging the look on his face, Shade knew he was being serious. He nearly laughed, but then noticed the hopeful looks of the bats around him. Like him, they all had a black metal disk hanging from their stomachs and a silver button stuck in their ears. Shade took a deep breath, knowing he won't be giving them the answers they wanted.

''How did we get here?'' asked a long-eared bat.

They took many of you in your sleep,'' Shade said. "Hundreds of you. The humans came right into the forest and pulled you from your roosts.''

''My parents?'' Chinook asked and Shade could hear a hint of fear in his voice.

He nodded. ''They too. And your uncle Hector. They must be in a different cage,'' he added reassuringly.

''How do you know about this?'' the strange Silverwing wanted to know whose wings were still wrapped around the young Brightwing. A slightly older Brownwing male with a banded arm had joined them. Concerned, he looked Shade in the face.

''I was not caught at the same time as you,'' he said, and in a few sentences, he told them about his escape through the stream and how he had gotten into the room where the humans were doing all these terrible things to the bats. He did not want to talk about his experiences with the owls and Goth. He felt too exhausted for that. The metal disk was pulling heavily on his belly and his ear was still throbbing with pain since he had this thing stapled there.

''Did Marina come with you?'' Chinook asked. Shade nodded.

''Yes, but I think she managed to avoid being caught.''

Chinook nodded and a smile danced around his lips. "Of course she did. She's too smart to get caught.'' He moved a little closer to Shade and lowered his voice to a whisper. ''So did she, you know, miss me?'' Shade blinked, hardly believing that Chinook was asking him something like that in their current situation. ''I'm pretty sure she likes me,'' he admitted to him.

''What are these things they put on us,'' asked a hoary bat with a squeaky voice, tapping tentatively on the metal button on her ear.

''I don't know,'' said Shade.

''And these heavy disks, what are they for?''

I don't know,'' Shade repeated, feeling anger rising within himself.

The Silverwing by the Bright- and Brownwing looked at him with a frown. ''If Arcadia was here, she would know,'' he said. ''She was right about you. You are just a troublemaker. Do you even know anything?''

''Raven, drop it.'' The Brownwing placed his hand soothingly on his friend's shoulder.

''I know we need to get out of here,'' Shade replied angrily "Have any of you ever tried to find a way out yet?''

General headshaking.

 _"Just Great,''_ Shade thought, _"They're all useless chumps. Do I have to do everything by myself?''_

''Why should we try to get it out?'' asked a banded Greenwing. ''How do we know this is not part of the Great Promise?''

''Fine, you stay here then,'" Shade said snippily. ''I for one am getting out of here. Who's with me?''

A depressing silence ruled for a second and then...

"Me.''

It was Chinook.

Shade felt a wave of gratitude and relief pour over him. "Then let's go.'' He hurried over to the small opening in the side where he dropped in. With a sudden jerk, it was closed with a sliding flap and the total darkness caused panic and horror among the bats.

''What's happening?'' one whimpered.

''I want my mommy!'' cried another.

''Help!''

Their voices overlapped and increased fear and urgency. Shade tried to block them out. With his echo vision, he checked the sliding flap and heard a distinct metallic click, coming from a tiny hole halfway up. He needed a closer look.

"Chinook, help me, will you?''

The larger Silverwing crouched down so Shade could climb on his back. It was just enough for him to reach the tiny hole with his claws outstretched. With all his weight he tried to pull the flap back up but it just wouldn't move. Somehow it was locked near the hole.

Suddenly the container began swinging wildly back and forth and Shade fell from Chinooks back. He could hear the heavy footsteps of humans. They were being carried somewhere. A door opened with a hiss. And then it became much colder. The steps crunched. Snow.

"We're outside," he heard Chinook whisper.

Shade's heart almost broke with longing. On the other side of this container was the world, freedom. If only he could get out of here. He would spread out his wings and lift up high into the sky. Far up, where the humans could never reach him. Frustrated, he hammered with his fists on the metal walls until the pain brought him back to his senses. It was foolish to waste his strength like that.

Suddenly the steps became louder and harder and echoed. Apparently, they were now inside something. With a crack, the container was set down. Loud, slow voices of humans resounded around them like a wailing wind. Shade wishes Vanessa was here and could tell him what they were talking about. On the other hand, it was probably nothing important. The cage jerked roughly back and forth, causing him to fell against Chinook.

Other bats were here as well. He could hear their terrifying lamentations like ghostly howls outside his container. It reminded him of the voices he had heard a long time ago in the echo chamber of Tree-Heaven. Frieda had taken him and Vanessa down there to tell them the story of the great battle and Nocturna's great promise.

Nervously, Shade wondered what would happen to them now. He felt Chinook moving closer to him, then heard a horrible noise of metal crashing against metal. Then silence. But only for a few seconds. A deep, powerful vibration rose around them, crawling through the bottom of the cage, into the bones of his feet, his spine, and his chest. Shade felt like he was in the belly of a huge mechanical animal. There was a stream of air and it cracked in his ears. Shade swallowed and looked at Chinook. Both of them too frightened to speak. The vibration grew stronger and seemed to come directly from the marrow of his own bones. The entire container rumbled.

They were moving, not just the cage, but also what was surrounding them. Shade felt that something infinitely strong was starting to move. First slowly, then with increasing speed. The cage tilted slightly and he instinctively spread his wings to keep his balance.

All bats were immersed in anxious silence. Only a few murmured a few words to themselves. Presumably prayers to Nocturna. Shade felt hollow and useless. He knew he should think and do something. But all he could do at the moment was wait and see what would come next. Suddenly, the vibrations ebbed and Shade felt the familiar feeling of weightlessness under his feet.

''We are flying'', he said.


	9. Welcome aboard

''Hurry!'' I urged Throbb to fly faster, fearing we wouldn't make it in time.

''Stop screaming into my ears señjorita, I'm flying as fast as I can.''

The last boxes were just loaded into the hold. We didn't have much time left.

Throbb turned on the turbo mode and dashed through the opening. I had to hold on tight to his neck fur to prevent me from falling off. Undiscovered we slipped past the workers into the interior of the plane. By accident, Throbb hit the head of a man who was about to unload another metal box. It dropped right out of his hands and fell with a crash on the floor.

''Watch it, Russell!" another worker snapped at him.

"Sorry," he said, "but I think something just hit me.'' Confused, he looked around, but Throbb and I had hidden well between the already loaded cargo.

Russell's colleague rolled his eyes in annoyance. We don't have time for this nonsense. We gotta go!'' And with that, the two men withdrew and the cargo door was closed. Turning everything dark.

Minutes later we heard the sound of a starting engine and then we took off.

"Where is this thing heading anyway?" Throbb asked.

"No clue and doesn't matter.'' Not caring if he was following me or not I began running around the boxes, trying to find my friends. ''Shade! Orestes! Are you here?'' First there was no answer until I knocked on one of the metal boxes on the ground. ''Guys?''

''Vanessa, is that you?''

''Shade?'' Oh, how glad I was to hear his voice. ''Shade, is everything alright? Are you ok?''

''I'm fine'', came the voice from inside the box. ''Chinook is with me and a bunch of other bats.''

''Don't worry. I'll get you out there.''

The cage was closed with a simple hook closure. All I had to do was to release the hook from the anchorage and the door could be opened. Question was, how to reach it? I turned around, looking for Throbb. But the Vampyrum was nowhere to be seen. Great! Just when you needed a giant bat, it wasn't there.

* * *

Compared to the pleasant warmth of the artificial forest, the outside temperature was freezing cold. And even though it was daytime, the sun seemed to be unable to do much about it.

Marina needed to hurry. Not because of the weather. For that, she got a sufficiently thick fur. But she couldn't keep flying around out there. Sooner or later, she would be seen by a bird and hunted down for breaking the law.

Beneath her, the human building was glittering coldly in the bright sunlight.

''Free,'' she thought bitterly. "I am free.'' Yet, she had never felt less.

Hopefully, Vanessa and Throbb had been quick enough to get on board before it took off.

She didn't trust the meat-eating bat but she trusted her friend. And if she was willing to risk letting him take her to where she couldn't go by herself then so be it. Besides, Vanessa was right. Someone needed to tell the Silverwings what happened. Frieda would certainly know what to do. They could fly south, into the direction of the flying machine, and look for Shade. Yes, that's right.

Finding the small entrance wasn't easy. The building looked different in daylight. Unviting, with no magical bat melody to lure her inside. It was just a bunch of metal and stones. Like all human buildings.

Eventually, she recognized a part of the roof they flew over when they arrived at this place. A few minutes later, she found the entrance hole and headed directly towards it. Only to stop merely centimeters before it. What was she doing? She couldn't fly inside like this. She would just be trapped again. Marina glared hatefully at the building. All she wanted was smash that thing to pieces.

Wait! That's it!

She quickly glided low over the ground, seeking the largest stone she could carry. Finding the right one, she grabbed it with her claws, flew up, took aim, and dropped it. Marina watched the stone fall and hit the center of a glass pane. Nothing. Not even a scratch. Again, she picked up the stone, struggled to reach the top, and dropped it on the same spot. Harmlessly it bounced off.

Disappointed, Marina laid back her ears. This left her only one choice. She had to go through the hidden trapdoor again. But how should she and the others get out again? The door only opened in one direction. But maybe if she...

An idea popped up in her mind. One more time she flew low over the ground. This time looking for a stick, thick and not too long. She grabbed it and flew through the entrance.

Inside, she crawled carefully through the tunnel. Her eyes fixed on the ground. She could still remember how Vanessa was the first to fall through the trapdoor because she didn't pay attention to where she was crawling. Soon she found the hatch and kicked it open.

Quickly before the door could close again, Marina pushed the stick in between and squeezed herself past it into the inside. The stick wobbled a little but stood firm. Satisfied, Marina turned to the forest and began searching for Frieda, Ariel, and the others.

* * *

Somehow I had to get on top of the cage. From above it would be easier to release the hook. Unfortunately, the walls were too smooth to climb and my fingertips didn't reach the top. Even if I stood on my toes.

''Is everything okay out there?'' Shade asked.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. I just need to figure out how to get to that lock.''

"Can't you stand on something to reach it? That was Chinook.

"I'd love to, but there's nothing here. Wait!'' Among all these cages there were also other stored items. One of them being a small filled bag that I could pull over and use as a stool. I rushed over and grabbed the string attached to it. It was heavy but not too heavy for me to pull it over to the cage with Shade and Chinook inside.

''Alright,'' I said. ''That should do it.''

The lock was still high up, but with a jump, I managed to grab it and used it to climb on top of the cage. From there I lay down over the edge on my belly and fumbled the hook from its anchorage.

''Got it!'' With a smile, I watched how the sliding door was pulled open and bats came scurrying out.

There were at least two dozen with two familiar faces among them.

''Guys, up here!''

Shade and Chinook, looked up hearing my voice and smiled, spotting me on top of the cage. I smiled back, feeling so happy to see them alive. But then I noticed the devices on both of their bellies. And not just them. Every one of the bats had a metal disk sewed on their belly plus a metal button stuck to their ear. ''How sick of my kind to do that to them'', I thought and jumped down from the cage and on the sack below.

''Did Marina come with you?'' Shade wanted to know.

I shook my head. ''No, she flew back to warn the others and get them all out.''

''How?''

''Don't know. But I'm sure she will think of something'', I said.

''Then how did you get here?'' Chinook asked.

''Throbb carried me inside before the door was closed,'' I explained and saw Shade's eyes widen hearing this. ''Throbb is here?'' he asked.

''I know. Not a great idea to bring him. But I had no other choice.''

''Where is he?''

''No idea'', I confessed ''I kinda lost track of him while searching for you guys.''

Chinook looked at us puzzled ''What's wrong? Who's Throbb?''

Shade sighed. ''Remember how we told you and the others about the two giants bats?''

He nodded.

''Well, Throbb is one of them.''

''What?'' Chinook was shocked. ''But didn't you guys said he was dead?''

''We thought so'', I said. ''But it seemed he survived somehow.''

''And Goth too. Unfortunately.'' Shade glanced around, looking worried to see the Vampyrum prince jump at them at any second.

''We need to get out of here!'' he said.

''First, we have to make sure to free you from these things'', I replied while pointing at the metal disks on their bellies. But Shade shook his head. ''That has to wait. It's better if we leave this place first and get back to the other Silverwings.''

''No, you have to get rid of this right now.''

''Why?'' Chinook asked alarmed.

I hesitated, not wanting to tell them. But I knew I had to.

''They put bombs on you.''

''WHAT?!'' both males exclaimed, getting the attention of the other bats around.

''What's going on?'' a Brightwing asked.

I sighed and turned to him and the other bats. ''Those things on your bellies are bombs. They will explode and kill you.''

Chaos erupted among the bats. Everyone started screaming and flying around in panic and fear. I tried to calm them down but it didn't work. The turmoil even got louder from the screams of the bats still locked in their cages. They must have heard the bad news from the others outside.

''Everyone, please calm down'', I tried again. This time adding more determination to my voice.

''If you are not careful you may activate it.''

''How you could you do this to us human?'' a Silverwing male, who I didn't recognize from Shade's colony asked while glaring at me with bright yellow-green eyes.

''Hey, don't blame me for what other humans did to you'', I protested. ''We are not all the same.''

The Silverwing wrinkled his nose, clearly not agreeing with me.

''Please, no fight.'' Shade said, stepping between me and the other bat. ''We should hurry to get those things off and get the hell out of here.''

I nodded in agreement and took a closer look at the bomb stitched on his belly. ''I think all we have to do is cut the threads that hold them to you.''

''But how?'' Chinook asked.

''Good question. Maybe if you use your teeth you could bite yourself through them. In the meantime, I will go free all the other bats.''

''I'll help you'', Shade said and waved off as I tried to protest. ''It will be faster that way.''

''I'll help too'', said Chinook which honestly surprised me a bit. Nevertheless, I agreed to their help and together we began unlatching the other cages. As I had thought, not only bats had to go through that ordeal. Owls did too. Explaining to them what was going on and asking them not to harm me or any of the bats wasn't easy. But luckily Orestes was there to help.

During the next few minutes, all animals were busy with either freeing each other from the bombs or opening more cages.

Nearly everyone was liberated by now, as something on the side caught my attention. It seemed like something was moving in the shadows. Thinking it was Throbb I nearly called out his name but stopped as I saw who it actually was.

That was what Throbb had been doing while I was looking for Shade.

He had opened Goth's cage.

* * *

Marina wasted no second. She had no idea how long her stick would hold the flap open. Hopefully long enough. A cold wind blew through the opening into the artificial warmth of the forest. It was afternoon by now and apart from a few exceptions, most bats were still sound asleep.

But that should now change. Without consideration, Marina raced through the forest, looked into every tree and under every branch, and woke up everyone she could find. Soon the sky above the treetops was filled with hundreds of confused and grumpy looking bats.

''What's this all about?'' Arcadia made her way through the crowd until she was just before Marina. What drove you to make such a racket at this hour,'' she snarled.

"I'm sorry. But you all have to get out of here. Now.''

''What? Listen here young one. I have no idea what got into you but...''

''Marina!''

She turned around and noticed Ariel and Icarus flying over to her.

''Thank's Nocturna you are alright.'' Ariel sighed with relief. ''Where did you go? And where is Shade?''

''And where is Vanessa?'' Icarus added, looking worried.

''She is safe'', Marina panted, completely out of breath. ''But the humans have captured Shade and did horrible things to him and the other missing bats. We need to get out of here, otherwise, they will do the same to us.''

Nervous murmuring broke out among the other bats.

''Horrible things?''

''What is she talking about?''

''Everyone please be calm down.'' Frieda Silverwing had made her way to Marina and the authority in her voice immediately brought the desired effect. Within seconds everyone was quiet again. And dozens of eyes gazed questioningly at the young Brightwing.

''Please, tell us what happened,'' Frieda asked her.

As soon as Marina's breathing recovered a little, she quickly told them what had happened to her and her friends and how they had managed to get out of the forest in the first place.

''We must hurry,'' she said pleadingly. ''The flying machine is heading south and...''

''What are you so worried about,'' Arcadia asked, not looking as shocked as the others after hearing her story. ''Obviously, this is all part of Nocturna's Promise.''

''Nonsense!'' Marina exclaimed. ''I saw what the humans did with my own eyes and this has nothing to do with any promises.''

''How dare you stand against the great goddess Nocturna.'' The old bat glared at her angrily.

''I don't.''

''Have you no faith in her?''

''Of, course I do,'' Marina sighed. This was leading nowhere. Besides, they were running out of time. Seeking help, she looked into the faces of Ariel, Icarus, and Frieda. The latter looked at her for a few heartbeats, then nodded. ''We are leaving!'' she said determinedly and raised her voice so that everyone could hear her. ''All those who wish to come with us should come now!''

''Don't listen to her!'' Arcadia countered. ''They only want to lead you astray. Can't you see that the sun is still up? Out there we will be slaughtered by the owls, but in here we are safe.''

''We are not safe here at all'', Marina cried. But Arcadia's words were effective. Only a few bats decided to fly to them. Mainly the Silverwings, who originally left Hibernaculum together with them.

"There you see it.'' Arcadia grinned smugly. ''We are not afraid of the trials Nocturna has laid out for us.''

''Then I wish you good luck,'' said Frieda and led her group to the entrance with the trapdoor.

Heavy footsteps staggered over the roof, making Marina's heart beat faster. "Quick,'' she called out. ''Apparently they know I left the flap open.''

With relief she saw, the stick was still holding, although it was trembling heavily under the pressure Piercing smoke rippled out of the wall and the strained whirring of machines became louder.

''Hurry,'' she shouted after she went through first and helped the other to get out too.

The humans were now, according to what she could hear, right above her. She heard the sound of metal on metal as something was lifted. A flap suddenly opened beside her and a human hand pushed its way in and fumbled around. Eventually, it found the stick and began to pull. Without hesitation, Marina jumped forward and dug her sharp teeth deep into the soft flesh. With a scream, the hand was pulled back.

Marina watched how Frieda and after her Ariel and Icarus squeezed through last. Then the hand returned, this time armed with one of those sticks that the humans used to paralyze the animals. It blocked her way out and pushed her back to the flap. Marina could hear Ariel calling out for her in fear and feverishly thought of a way out. She let the human fumble his way to the flap, then grabbed the still stuck stick and yanked it out so that now the human's stick was stuck there instead. While he was busy pulling his tool back out, Marina rushed past him and out into the bright daylight

* * *

Of everything that was currently happening, this was the worst. With a smirk on his face, Goth stepped closer to me, showing his sharp teeth. He too was wearing a silver metal button on his ear and a metal disk on his belly. His one was bigger than the ones the smaller bats were carrying. More of the size the owls had.

"What's is it señjorita? Surprised to see me again? I feel hurt being uninvited." He chuckled darkly.

''S-stay back,'' I stumbled backward and tripped over a bomb someone managed to get rid of already.

Goth, looked at me, pretending to be hurt. ''Aww, how unfair. And yet I only want to show gratitude for what your kind has done to me.'' He was now hovering over me and raised his hand. His claws flashing in the darkness. I remained where I was, frozen with fear while staring into his yellowish colored eyes. This time I knew I was done for. Goth raised his claw higher, ready to strike. As someone called my name, distracting him briefly. Then I saw Shade flying over, the metal disk still stuck on his belly.

''There you are. I was wondering...'' He stagnated when he saw the Vampyrum and instinctively took a step back. "Oh no. No!''

"I'm glad to see you too, Shade,'' said Goth. ''Looks like I'm still getting a change to get my revenge on you as well.'' He chuckled viciously and got ready to attack.

"Shade, fly!'' I cried.

He didn't have to be told twice. With whirling flaps of his wings, Shade jumped to the side just before Goth could lunge at him. Yet he didn't give up, and chased the small Silverwing across the entire plane. It wasn't long before the others noticed what was going on. And judging by their screams, it was quite a shock.

I picked myself up very carefully, not wanting to activate the bomb by accident. The flickering red light on it made me nervous enough. ... Hold on! Have these things blinked like that before? Pretty sure they didn't.

Another scream.

I spun around and saw Throbb with a Brightwing in his claws. The poor guy desperately struggling in his grip.

''Hey, let go of him!'' I cried but Throbb thought otherwise. ''Sorry, señjorita but I believe our truce is over.'' He licked his lips and opened his mouth to bite into his victim. Without thinking I rushed forward and slammed my whole weight against him. Throbb gasped at the impact and tumbled back, releasing the Brightwing.

The totally terrified animal wasted no time and flew off to hide. Hopefully, it won't crash into Goth. Where was he anyway? And where was Shade? Throbb, on the other hand, had recovered from my rugby attack and looked anything but pleased that I had ruined his meal.

Suddenly the plane jerked and the door of the cargo hold opened in mid-flight. The wind roared around my ears. I tried to hold on to one of the boxes, but a mighty draft pulled me out into the open together with all the other bats and owls.

The wild impact of cold air nearly knocked my breath away as I was falling upside down towards the clouds. It felt like the time when Shade and I got caught in that storm and landed on Marina's island. Again I plunged through a cloud and fell deeper and deeper. Blades of grass loosened themselves from my self-made skirt. And my whole body was covered with frost. I asked myself about the remaining of the other. But I was falling so fast. All I could see was blurry images of things were rushing past me.

Then suddenly it became a lot warmer around me. And as I rushed through another cloud I was engulfed in a heavy, damp heat, like the one I felt in Goth and Throbb's artificial jungle.

One last time I broke through a thick layer of clouds and gazed upon a large city. For a short moment, I was captivated by the sight. From the corner of my eyes, I noticed something rushing towards one of the buildings. Way faster than me. But before I could see what it was, erupted the earsplitting sound of an explosion followed by a shock wave of smoke and flames.


	10. Rain of Fire

It threw me several meters back into the air until I bumped into something big and soft. Instinctively I clung to it, hoping it would save me from my fall. I heard another explosion and shut my eyes real tight while burying my face deep into whatever I was hanging on. Wishing this to be nothing but a horrible dream and I was not here at all. Suddenly something was tugging painfully at my hair. And as I reached out to strike it away, I heard the surprised cry of my friend Orestes.

"Oh, my, Vanessa. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you.''

Words could not tell how happy I was to see him. But there was no time for hugs. Even though I was pretty much doing exactly that while hanging on to him in the sky. We needed to get away from here. More bombs were falling down to the city below, causing a wildfire.

''Orestes, we can't stay here. You have to get us somewhere save,'' I said.

''I know,'' he replied and flinched as something fall past him. ''But where is Shade? I thought I saw him and Chinook back in the plane.''

''I don't know.''

I looked around as best I could. I didn't even want to think that either one or both of them might have been caught in a detonation. At the same time, I wondered where all the other bats and owls were. As if on cue, a barn owl flew past us in a nosedive. A short red flash told me that the bomb was still attached to its belly. It headed straight for one of the buildings, landed, and then part of the building erupted in a blaze of smoke and flames.

Orestes gasped. "B-but why?''

I was asking myself the same question. Then another owl flew towards the same building, followed by a bat. Orestes cried out for them to stop, but they didn't listen. Like hypnotized, they all headed towards the buildings and their death. I screamed as the next bang almost burst my eardrums.

''What is going on here?'' Orestes' voice was shrill with panic.

''I have no idea,'' I repeated, hearing fear in my voice as well. ''Just get us away from here, please.'' If I could fly myself, I would probably have dashed away already. There was nothing I wanted more right now than to get far away from this place.

''There is Shade!''

Surprised, at my friend's outcry, I turned my head and saw our little Silverwing friend about to take the same deadly route as the other victims before him.

''We have to stop him!'' I cried.

At first, Orestes and I tried to call out to him. But since that didn't work we had no choice but to race after him and grab him in mid-air. Shade didn't even flinch as Orestes grabbed him with one of his talons. Nor did he even seem to realize what was going on around him.

''Shade can you hear me?'' I called. ''Shade!'' No reaction.

''What is wrong with him?''

I was about to tell Orestes for the third time in a row that I had no idea myself when I noticed the silver button in Shade's ear. If the metal discs were firebombs, then what was this button for?

Wait!

''Orestes did the humans put a button on your ear too,'' I asked.

''Why are you asking that?''

''Because it's important,'' I said urgently.

''Well, yes they did''

''Do you still have it?''

Orestes was perplexed. ''It is still stuck to my earhole. But why is it so important?''

''Just tell if it's doing anything.''

''Uh, no,'' he said. ''Well except for singing some pictures into my head. But I can hardly hear them. I guess it's not working right if that's what it should be doing.''

I just nodded and carefully climbed down to his leg where Shade was.

''Vanessa, what are you doing?''

''This metal button on his ear, I have to take it off him. It's telling him to land where the bombs are supposed to set off.'' As I reached him, I also discovered another problem. ''Orestes, whatever happens, don't press too hard on Shades' stomach,'' I said warningly. ''The metal disk is still attached to him.''

''How are we gonna get it off him?''

''We'll think of something.'' At least I hoped we would. It certainly wouldn't be easy in mid-flight. I didn't even know how I was going to remove the button from his ear without hurting him. On the other hand, this was an emergency and Shade didn't notice anything anyway. So I took a deep breath, clung to him and Orestes' foot while simultaneously reaching for the Silverwing's ear to try pulling the metal button out with my fingers. This was harder than I thought. That thing was steady as a rock.

"Ngh, come on... get off!''

''Let me try.'' Still flying. Orestes lifted his foot and bent down to grab the piece of metal with his beak. With one strong pull, it went off and left a small bleeding hole in Shade's ear. Instantly the young bat woke up from his trance.

''W-what happened? Where am I?''

''Shade you are back!'' I couldn't help but smiled that he was back to normal.

''Was I gone somewhere?'' He asked puzzled.

I shook my head. ''Only with your mind.''

''What do you mean?'' he asked and wrinkled his forehead. ''Wait! Why is Orestes holding me in his foot and why does my ear hurt?''

''We can talk about this later Shade'', I said ''Right now we have to get out of here.''

''Why? What is...'' He was cut short by the sudden eruption of another explosion. Much too close to us for my taste. I could practically taste the smoke.

''Holly Nocturna!'' Shade exclaimed, looking down with horror. ''Are the metal disks responsible for that?''

''Yes, the humans put them on you, so you would carry them to the place they are supposed to explode.''

''But that's...'' A bat flew past us, heading towards the blazing flames. We quickly recognized the shark fin hairstyle on top of his head. ''Chinook!'' Shade cried. ''Don't!''

Chinook looked back. His face showed signs of confusion, but he hesitated only a second before continuing on his course.

"Quick, after him.''

Orestes rushed after the other Silverwing and caught up with him as we entered a cloud of smoke. The thick fog and the heat around us made my eyes water and made me cough. My friends were not doing any better.

''Let's ... get out of here!'' Shade brought up coughing.

Orestes wasted no time. Grabbing Chinook with his free talon, he flew away from the explosions, smoke, and flames as fast as he could.

After we had gotten so far away that we could still hear the detonations but didn't have to watch them anymore, Orestes stopped. His breathing was strained and his feathers were completely disheveled.

Are you alright?'' I asked.

"Yes, don't worry. Just a little out of breath.''

Meanwhile, Shade tried to wake Chinook up from his trance. With moderate success.

"Why isn't he responding?''

"The button in his ear," I said, "it's controlling him like the one you had. We have to remove it.''

"But how?''

"I can do that.'' As with Shade earlier, Orestes bent down to Chinook and plucked the metal piece from his ear with a quick energetic tug. Blinking he came back to his senses.

"How? What? Where am I?'' Chinook turned his head and noticed that he was trapped in the claws of an owl. "Aaaah! Help! Somebody help!'' he yelled and tried to free himself panicking.

''Chinook, relax. It's us'', I said, trying to calm him down. ''Orestes, Shade and I.''

The young Silverwing stopped struggling and turned his face to me and Shade on Orestes' other foot.

''W-what's going on?'' he asked, still confused.

''Something terrible,'' Shade explained, causing Chinook to furrow his brows.

''What do you mean? Where are the others.''

''We don't know,'' I said. ''Maybe they managed to fly somewhere safe or ...''

''Or what?''

''We saw many of them fly down to buildings in the city we got dropped out from the plane above. The metal buttons in their ears told them to land there to activate the bombs on their bellies.''

''We tried to stop them,'' Orestes added. ''But unfortunately we could only save you and Shade.''

''Not quite'', I said. ''We still need to get the bombs off of you guys. Otherwise, you can't land anywhere or you will explode.''

Hearing this Shade gulped while Chinook looked as if he was about to faint.

''But how will we get it off?'' Orestes asked. ''Should I pluck them off with my beak as well?''

''No. You could hurt them. There has to be another way.''

''Maybe if we try biting through the stitches. That should work,'' Shade suggested.

I shrugged. ''Worth a try.''

But Chinook was still skeptical. ''Are you guys sure that will work?''

''We don't have any other options left.''

''Look Chinook,'' said Shade. ''I'll bite your disk off first, then you do the same to mine ok?!''

Chinook nodded hesitantly while Orestes let go of Shade so he could fly over to him in order to free him from his deadly device. The taller Silverwing tensed and flinched every time Shade bit through a stitch. Eventually, he was free from the thing. A few seconds later, a fountain of fire shot up from a road with a deafening crash. Orestes' tail feathers were almost singed, as well as my grass skirt. Then the two bats switched places and Chinook started to bite off Shade's metal disc.

After that was done, we headed towards a dense row of trees with fog wafting around them. We heard the detonation of the bomb behind us but didn't stop until we reached a small clearing. Completely exhausted, we landed on the ground and rolled onto the wet grass. There we remained laying for the time being.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marina and the others had found refuge in an old hollow tree trunk where they were going to spend the rest of the day. However, it remained to be clarified what they would do the following evening.

''Why don't we just fly back to Hibernaculum?'' Windslang asked and shifted back and forth in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

The suggestion was quite inviting. And Marina was ready to agree with it for a moment. How nice it would be to be there already, in the cave, wrapped in her silky wings and sleeping. Just sleeping and forgetting everything until spring ... But then she thought about her friends and shook the thought away.

''I saw in which direction the flying machine flew'', she reported quickly. South-Southeast. We can't let Shade and the others down.''

She looked at Ariel and Icarus. They replied nothing. But in their eyes reflected her own grief.

''This airplane could be millions of wing beats far by now'', said Frieda affectionately. Furthermore, it could have changed course.''

''I should have gone on board,'' Marina said bitterly. ''Just like Vanessa.''

''But then you would not have been able to warn us,'' Ariel gently reminded her.

The loving words brought tears to Marina's eyes. Ariel embraced her with her wings and gently pressed her to herself. ''I know,'' she said consolingly. ''I know. I have a lot of experience with men flying off somewhere without telling me. I'm even getting used to it.''

Marina smiled gratefully and wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand. Icarus, however, sighed deeply and looked apologetically at Ariel.

''I'm really sorry Ariel,'' he said. ''I should've stopped Cassiel or at least tell you what he was up to.''

"It's all right. You were just doing what any friend would have done.''

"'I know,'' he replied but still looked guilty.

''Well I still think our goal should be Hibernaculum'', Windslang said. ''I am sorry about your son Ariel and your adopted daughter Icarus and all the others. But Frieda is right. This flying machine could have flown who knows where and a that a thousand times faster than us. How could we possibly hope to find it? And even if we did find it, how do we know we could help?''

Ariel nodded. "You're right, we don't know. But I have lost my mate and my son for the second time now. You all go back to Hibernaculum, but I am following this flying machine.''

''Me too'', said Marina. She had lost her family once before and she would do everything she could to prevent it from happening a second time.

''For me, your journey could be too long,'' said Frieda, ''but I will go with you until my wings stop beating.''

Breeze and Todd also volunteered for this rescue mission. So did Icarus.

''But what about Mercury?'' Windslang asked him, a little surprised about his decision.

''My mate will understand,'' he replied. ''Besides, you said it yourself, my adopted daughter is on that plane. And just as Ariel is not willing to abandon her son, neither will I with her. Plus, I know Mercury would do the same.''

"So it's settled, then?" Frieda looked around. ''The six of us will follow the path of the flying machine while you return to Hibernaculum and tell the others what has happened. They should be warned about this building. And also tell other bats you encounter along the way.''

Windslang nodded and promised to do so.

Uhm... and what about us?'' asked a female long-eared bat, who had joined them during their flight together with three other bats.

''Now if you do not intend to accompany us on our journey as well, then I give you my word that you may spend the winter at Hibernaculum. In spring you can decide if you wish to stay with us or return to your old colonies.''

''Unfortunately, this option is out of question for me,'' murmured a young Tricolored bat and looked sadly at her silver band on her forearm. Marina looked sympathetically over to her. She knew exactly how she felt and hoped that she would find a new home with the Silverwings just like she did.

Now that everything was settled, Frieda decided that everyone should get some sleep. Tomorrow evening they wanted to leave as early as possible.

* * *

Several minutes have passed, but still, none of us said a word. We were all just lying there on the grass. Staring at the sky, thinking about the horrific things we have witnessed. It was truly a shock. All those poor owls and bats. Used as tools of destruction for my kind's selfish purposes.

I didn't dare to look at my friends. They for sure wanted answers. Answers I couldn't offer. Or at least not completely.

''W-where are we?'' Chinook asked. Being the first of us to say something.

I looked up at the towering trees and the bright sunny sky. All around us were calls of strange animals: eerie screeching, howling, and crows, some of them disturbingly close.

We were in a forest. That much was certain. But this forest was much different from what we were used to. The trees were large and bare, the first fifteen meters or more without branches or foliage, and then spread out in lush crowns. Underneath, flowers twined around the trunks and other plants seemed to have found their footing on vines and bark. Some leaves looked familiar, but were much more fleshy and had a waxy coating.

A feeling of fear and joy came over me. I knew where we were. We got a taste of it in Goth and Throbb's artificial forest and I had always dreamed of visiting a place like this for real. And now I did.

''We are in the jungle,'' I said still looking around as if I couldn't believe that I was really here.

''The jungle?'' Shade asked getting up. ''You mean the humans have dropped us in Goth homeland?''

''Seems so.'' Though I wasn't sure if it was truly the same jungle he and his cousin came from. Theoretically, the plane could have taken us to Borneo or who knows where.

''Guys, something is coming. We should get away from the ground.'' Following Orestes' advice, we flew up to the rooftop. I climbed on his feathery back and let him carry me to a thick branch on the middle floor. The two Silverwings roosted on another branch next to it. Shade twitched as he turned upside down and pain flitted across his face.

With concern, I looked at his belly. The tearing off of the metal disc had torn a raw, gaping wound in his flesh from which blood was still oozing. Chinook's wound was similarly ugly. Orestes' belly didn't look much better either. Although his wound has stopped bleeding, the naked area around it was red, swollen, and covered with dried blood.

I couldn't help but felt guilty about what happened to them. Humans had done this to them, and I was a human myself.

Below us, a massive rumble approached through the fern frond and leaves. Fearing I might fall down, I clung to the bark as tight as I could and watched as a huge animal stepped out of the undergrowth. It had a long gray-brown shaggy back, a thick tail almost as large as his body, and a long snout that looked as if someone had pinned a snake to his face.

''What is that thing?'' Chinook asked, his voice barely a whisper. He, Shade, and Orestes looked cautiously at the animal below us.

The creature sniffed around on the ground and then pushed its snout into a pile of earth. There was a loud sucking sound and as it pulled its snout back out, we saw a long, whip-shaped tongue covered with ants shooting out, bouncing back and forth around the corners of the snout, and then disappearing back in it.

''It's an anteater,'' I said. ''Relax guys it's harmless. They only eat ants.''

''How can you be so sure about that?'' Chinook asked squinting his eyes.

''I read about them.'' I knew this explanation was not sufficient but none of the three asked for more details so I left it at that. Meanwhile, the anteater trotted away, walking on his ankles. ''Any ideas what we should do know?'' I asked.

''We should go back and see if there are survivors,'' Shade suggested.

Chinook nodded eagerly. ''Yeah, like my parents and my uncle.'' Worry overshadowed his face. ''Has ... any of you seen them?'' Sadly we shook our heads. Chinook's face dropped. ''I think I did,'' he said quietly. ''But then this sound picture rang in my ear and I couldn't think straight again.''

Shade sighed. ''I know what you mean. But let's not give up hope. We might find them if we go back.''

''What if there are still bombs dropping from the sky?'' I added for consideration. ''We should at least wait a bit before returning.''

''But what if they are hurt?''

''Don't lose heart Chinook. I'm sure are fine.''

''How about I take a quick flight back and see if I can spot them or anyone else?!'' Orestes suggested.

''But we just...''

Orestes shook his head, cutting me off. ''I know,'' he said. ''But Chinook is right. If his parents or anyone else in need of help then we should act now instead of wait to see what happens.''

''She is not wrong either,'' Shade said looking thoughtful. ''Going back means to put ourselves in danger. So maybe we should indeed wait.''

''Or I could go alone. Shade, Chinook your wounds are still bleeding and you need rest. You should stay here with Vanessa.''

''But you are hurt as well,'' I protested not wanting him to go back on his own.

''Don't worry. I'll be careful. If there is any sign of fire or those bombs falling then I won't go nearer and turn right back. I promise.''

I still didn't like it. But Orestes insisted on going, so we let him and waited for his return.

He was hardly gone when a rustle in the foliage resounded beside us.

"What is that?" Chinook hissed anxiously. "Another anteater?''

"Up here?''

''Boys, shhh!'' I stared tensely at the leaves, hoping that whatever was behind them, to be either harmless or would simply leave. Soon the noise ebbed, but neither of us dared to even breathe until we thought to be sure it was gone. Thinking it was safe again, I turned to my friends about to say something, when the leaves were suddenly pushed aside like a curtain.

"Well, well, well, look who's here.''

We had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Of everything and everyone we could have met, it had to be our ''favorite'' enemies: Goth and Throbb.


	11. Into the lion's den

What did fate have against us to cause us such misfortune? Unlike me, Shade and Chinook, the two Vampyrum Spectrum were delighted to see us. And that wasn't a good sign. Like us, they had survived the bombing. No big surprise considering what they, especially Goth, had all outlived in the north before. Though, he wasn't fully out of danger yet. The metal disk was still attached to his belly and so was the button on his ear. He just needed to make one wrong move, and we were all done for.

''I see our swift reunion doesn't seem to excite you at all,'' said Goth. ''How unfortunate.''

He looked ready to sink his teeth into our flesh, as he had planned to back in the north.

''G-guys!'' Chinook asked. ''Who are these two?''

''Goth and Throbb'', Shade replied. ''We told you about them, remember?!''

The bigger Silverwing's eyes went huge. He turned back towards the two meat-eaters and looked at them up and down as if measuring their size. Then he looked back at Shade. ''You mean to tell me that these are the two giant bats you two and Marina came across on your way to Hibernaculum?''

''Eh, yes.''

Chinook looked as if he was about to faint.

''I see you have already informed your companion here about my cousin and me'', said Goth. ''Good, we do not have to introduce ourselves then.''

''H-how did you survive the bombing?'' I decided to ask.

Goth blinked. ''You mean the firestorms? We flew away from them. Simple as that.''

''But you still have that button on your ear, ''Shade said, pointing at it with his claw. ''Wasn't it telling you to land by one of the human buildings?''

''Sure. But do you really think I'm that naive to blindly follow some instructions humans plant into my head? You should know me better amigo.'' Goth harrumphed as if the pure idea of my kind telling him what to do was outrageous. ''You little bats and owls may fall for their tricks but for me, that's just some annoying piece of metal.'' He reached up to his ear and with one full swipe, the button was torn out of his flesh. Blood dripped from the wound but Goth didn't even flinch and tossed the metal button away with disgust. I knew how much he wanted to do the same with the band on his forearm. But this one was stuck on him. Just like the metal disc on his belly.

''Eh, you know what. It was actually nice to see you two again but now we should part ways. You should head home and get that disk removed. We will hang out somewhere else.'' I gave Chinook and Shade a slight push to get moving.

''What's the hurry?''

Both Vampyrum came closer and blocked our way.

''We basically owe it to you that we are back in our beloved jungle. The least we could do is to show you a bit around.''

''Oh, p-please don't bother.''

I didn't like the grin on Goth's face. The fact that he hadn't pounced on us yet wasn't necessarily a good sign. On the contrary, I was sure he had something terrible for us in mind.

''Now then, let's go shall we?!''

Before I could even react, Goth grasped my arm and pulled me to his side. I was dangerously close to the bomb on his stomach. Breathing as shallow as possible I dared not to move to close to it. Even Shade and Chinook didn't try to come to my aid. They knew, that, if they attacked Goth, it might cause the bomb to explode. Something none of us wanted to risk. Not even Goth himself, I was sure.

In the end, we had no choice but to follow the two Vampyrums. To make sure that we wouldn't try to escape, Goth bored his claws into my shoulders while Throbb flew behind the two Silverwing males, making sure they didn't stray from the path.

* * *

Meanwhile, Orestes was back at the place where the plane had dropped off the owls and bats. There was still fire everywhere and the air was filled with the shrill howling of sirens. The smoke was burning in his eyes but he kept on flying around, hoping to find any survivors. For the time being, it seemed no more bombs came falling from the sky. But for how long would it be like that?

He didn't want to wait and find out. He needed to hurry and get back to his friends.

Orestes searched around for as long as he could. But all he could find was more fire, piles of ash, and dead bodies. Luckily, no one he knew. The sight of these unknown bats and owls was worse enough. He couldn't even imagine what to tell Chinook if he found his parents or his uncle among those killed in action. Yet, he did not see any sign of life from them. But that did not necessarily mean the worst. Presumably, they had flown away to get to safety, as he and the others did. At least he hoped so.

He decided to go for one last round and then turned back towards the jungle to inform his friends. But by the time he got to the spot where he had left them, there was no sign of Vanessa, Chinook, or Shade. They seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. For a brief moment, Orestes thought he was at the wrong place, but when he looked around, he knew it was the right one. He called out for his friends but received no answer. What happened to them?

Orestes wanted to look for them, but he was so worn out and this place was so strange. Who knew what would await him in this jungle. Just to plunge blindly into the thicket was insane. He had to come up with a plan first and also find shelter for the day.

* * *

My shoulders hurt, but I didn't dare to complain, fearing Goth would only tighten his grip or worse drop me.

With dismay, I noticed the traces of destruction the deeper we went into the jungle. Huge craters and furrows, dug into the earth by fire. Apparently, the city outside was not the only target of the attacks. I wondered what in the world had gone wrong this time among my peers, that it had to degenerate into another war. I wouldn't have blamed Goth if he decided to throw me into the next best trench for what the humans had done to his home. Then again I was still glad he didn't.

The further we flew over the canopy of the jungle, I noticed how quiet it was around us. Every now and then we heard the screeching of birds or the chatter of monkeys but otherwise, it seemed as if the abundance of creatures that lived here had been forcefully silenced or simply fled.

On our way, we did not even stop once to take a short break. Thereby we had been traveling for about an hour, maybe two. The weight of the metal disc must surely give Goth a hard time. Nevertheless, he flew on determinedly. Even Throbb didn't complain. It was a nice change from back then in the north where he was always complaining about the weather or his empty stomach. Now he was probably just happy to be back home.

And then we were there. With the sun setting on the horizon the top of a mighty pyramid rose from the jungle. It was almost completely overgrown with vines, ferns, and palm trees, which somehow managed to find their roots in the broken rocks and stones.

The view was breathtaking. For a short moment, I even forgot the pain in my shoulders. Just by looking at it. Never would I have thought that I would ever visit one of the famous Mayan pyramids. So far I had only seen them in pictures and films.

"Speechless, señorita?''

I flinched at the sound of Goth's voice as if I had forgotten that he was there.

''Your kind built this pyramid hundreds of years ago in honor of Cama Zotz. But at some point, you decided to turn your back on him and now you are allowing the jungle to devour it.''

 _''It's not that the people had voluntarily turned away from their gods,''_ I thought but remained silent.

Silently we flew closer to the pyramid and headed towards the royal chamber that crowned the top. Once we were inside, Goth threw me roughly onto the stoned floor. Next, he landed himself, very carefully, making sure that the disc wasn't touching the ground. Then Throbb and my Silverwing friends landed as well. Shade immediately went to my side and helped me back up. I hissed from the pain in my shoulders and saw that Goth's claws had dug some nasty holes into them.

_''Great, more scars for the collection.''_

Suddenly there was an agitated maelstrom of voices all around us accompanied by the crackling of thousands, if not more, leathery wings. I looked at Goth and Throbb and noticed a widespread grin on both their faces. Then Goth solemnly stretched out his arms and loudly drowned out the bustle. ''Everyone, we have returned!'' he shouted. ''You princes; Goth and Throbb are here. We have finally returned home!''

Calls of joy rose in the general tumult. Some Vampyrum Spectrum departed from their roosts and fluttered in a tight circle around our heads, welcoming their lost princes.

''Where have you been?''

''We thought you were killed.''

I threw a quick glance at Shade. Judging by his expression, he propbably also thought that our meeting with the Vampyrum Colony felt similar to the moment we arrived at the Hibernaculum.

''Praise lord Cama Zotz, you are home.''

One adult male landed before us and the other bats retreated to a respectful distance. He looked kind of like Throbb, but with more muscles and less fat. Though he wasn't as slim as Goth. His fur color was darker than the pudgy Vampyrum with dark green wings and heather blue eyes.

''¡Padre!'' (''Father!'') Throbb beamed and rushed over to the other male.

''Mi hijo.'' (''My son.'') With a smile, the older male folded his wings around Throbb. Wrapping him into a short and tight embrace. ''You have no idea how happy I am to see you both'', he said.

''We sure are glad to be back as well'', Throbb replied.

''I have to tell your mother about your return. She was so worried. And I will also inform your mother as well Goth.''

''No need for that uncle Alkaios,'' he said waving it off. ''There are more important matters to be taken care of first.'' He opened his wings to show his uncle and his colony the metal disc on his belly.

''Dios mio! (My god!) What in Zotz name is this?'' Alkaios asked with a gasp.

''A dangerous device, created by humans and the cause of the firestorms that are destroying our jungle. Those filthy creatures are using northern bats and owls to carry their weapons. They were even foolish enough to believe they could use me for this as well. But we will use it against them instead.''

Alkaios frowned, then barked an order to two of the surrounding Vampyrum who landed down in front of their Prince.

''Free me from this thing'', Goth commanded, ''But be careful. It will explode if it touches hard surfaces.'' The two Vampyrums started working immediately. With extreme caution, they bit through the stitches, holding the disc. Afterward, they brought the bomb to a secure place. Goth sighed, relieved to finally be rid of the extra weight.

''Now then,'' he said, ''Where is my father? I need to speak with him.''

I watched how Alkaios turn his gaze away, closing his eyes for a moment. The rest of the colony growing silent. A gloomy mood hovering in the air.

''Goth, it hurts me to tell you this...But your father, King Deimos, is dead.''

I exchanged a short shocked glance with Shade and Chinook, while Goth stared at his uncle in pure disbelieve. ''When?'' he asked. ''When did that happen?''

''Five nights ago. He was out hunting and got caught by one of the firestorms.''

''He was hunting? I thought he was sick?'' Throbb asked. ''I seem to remember that he wasn't even able to leave the roost the night Goth and I got kidnapped.''

''That's true and his health grew even worse before he mysteriously got better again. Just to... have his fate be sealed by humans in the end.''

''Those blasted humans.'' Goth growled under his breath, his hands clenched into fists. ''They have mocked me and Cama Zotz, they are destroying our jungle and now they also killed my father. They will pay for all this.''

Cheering broke out among the Vampyrums. They flapped their wings in applause and shouted Goth's name in chorus.

''Guys, let's move while they are distracted'', Shade hissed, pulling Chinook and me back to the exit. We barely made it halfway to the exit as Goth turned around. ''Not one step further you three!''

Petrified we stopped immediately and didn't even dare to give a single beep from us. Instead, we just turned back around and watched how more and more eyes focused on us in confusion and curiosity.

''You have brought someone with you?'' Alkaios asked, trying to get a look at me and the Silverwings.

Throbb nodded. ''Two northern bats and a human.''

''A human?''

''Exactly.'' I let out a shocked squeak as Goth grabbed my arm and pulled me in front of him, so his uncle and everyone else could see me better. ''This is here is a human we came across in the north. She managed to get herself shrunk to the size of a mouse and is able to speak in animal tongue.''

Hearing this the cannibal bats chattered nervously with each other. Some scowled at me and began to growl while others protectively wrapped their wings around their partners and children as if fearing I would harm them or something. I would have loved to hide behind Goth's broad wings, but knew I couldn't escape the attention.

''Why did you brought a human to our roost?'' Alkaios was as shocked and confused as the rest of the colony and took turns looking at his son and nephew. Hoping for explanations.

''She and her friend Shade here'', Goth nodded towards the small Silverwing, ''have given me and Throbb a lot of trouble in the north. I almost died twice because of them.''

The Vampyrum gasped and murmured among themselves how this was possible, wondering what had happened.

''And who is that other Silverwing?'' Alkaios asked, nodding towards Chinook who looked like he was trying to make himself invisible but failed.

''Only one additional souvenir'', Goth replied. ''Probably from the same colony as the runt.''

''Hey!'' Shade frowned, still not liking to be called by that name. Goth ignored him.

''Well, I must say, your return brings many surprises,'' Throbb's father said.

''Indeed.''

Another Vampyrum stepped over to join us. Hands behind his back. It was an adult male with dark red fur, long pitch-black hair, and deep dark, almost black, reddish-brown wings. However, the unusual thing about him was his blood-red eyes and his black teeth. I have never seen an animal with such teeth before.

''Your Highness, welcome back'', he said and nodded respectfully at Goth and Throbb.

Goth frowned at this gesture as if he had rather expected a deep bow or something like that. And honestly, so did I.

''Do I know you?'' Goth asked, trying not to show his irritation.

''I'm afraid you've never seen me before. I came here only a few days before your return. As an emissary from a Vampyrum colony further to the south.

"Emissary, you say?''

''You hear correctly your majesty'', croaked the voice of an old gray bat with a crooked back. Goth's eyes flashed briefly in surprise at the sight of the old cannibal. Supported on a curved twig, he limped closer and bowed as far as he could before the two princes. ''It is a great pleasure to have you safely back with us again.''

Shade blinked, staring at the old bat. ''Woah'', he said. ''You are old.''

Eyes flaring, the elder turned to him in indignation. With his crouched posture, he was more or less at Shade's eye level. ''A little more respect, muchacho (boy)'', he spat, poking him in the chest with his stick. ''Do you northern bats talk like this to your elders?''

Shade quickly shook his head and moved a few steps away.

The old bat shook his head in displeasure. ''Estos jóvenes de hoy. No más respeto por la edad.'' (''These young people today. There is no more respect for age.'')

''Voxzaco,'' Goth interrupted his mumbling. ''I see you' re still in good health.''

Voxzaco laughed gaspingly. "Oh, you are too kind, your highness. To be honest, my joints are bothering me more and more each night. But I still don't seem to have finished my task in this world yet. Otherwise, the great Lord Zotz would have welcomed me into his realm by now.''

 _"Maybe he forgot about you''_ , I thought.

I had encountered old bats before by the Silverwings and in the artificial forest. But until now I had not yet met one that was as old as Voxzaco. He had to be about one hundred, calculated in human years. Amazing that he survived up to now, considering how animals in the wild are usually not blessed with a long life. He had so many wrinkles on his face that it looked like his wrinkles had wrinkles. His ears were tattered at the tips, just like one of his pale scarlet wings. Maybe the results of fights in his youth. In some places, his fur had fallen out and the pink naked skin was visible underneath it. Furthermore, he had pale yellow eyes with one tiny pupil on the left side and an enlarged one on the right, which seemed to tremble upon closer inspection. I had to turn away from it, feeling I would get dizzy if I keep looking at it any longer.

''Now, I see you have met Erebos so far. May I introduce you to his sister Phoenix as well.''

Out of the shadows came a beautiful Vampyrum lady with flowing pastel orange hair, scarlet fur, and darker colored wings. Like Erebos, she too had coal-black teeth. I knew animals didn't brush their teeth daily like humans. But in my opinion, these two were in dire need of it.

''It is a pleasure to finally meet you, your highness.'' She made a voluptuous bow before the princes, whereby her attention was mainly focused on Goth. ''My brother and I are deeply sorry about your loss. King Deimos was a great king. Highly respected in all kingdoms.''

''Gracias'', said Goth and let out a soft sigh while turning his gaze down for a moment. ''I appreciate your condolences.''

Throbb suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to his father. ''Eh, padre, now that uncle Deimos is dead. Doesn't that mean you are king now?''

His father shook his head. ''I decided to postpone the coronation ceremony. It seemed more important to me to bury my brother first and hold some nights for mourning.''

''A wise decision,'' Voxzaco interfered. "But now that you're back, Prince Goth. Your father's reign automatically passes to you.''

Goth smiled. It didn't surprise me at all that he liked this news. ''In that case, we should get through the coronation ceremony as quickly as possible. There is much to do.''

''Certainly. your highness,'' Voxzaco agreed, nodding. ''But there are still some preparations to be made. Nevertheless, I think we can hold the ceremony tonight.''

''So be it.''

''Your majesty, what shall happen with the three northerners?'' a Vampyrum asked, standing before the entrance. Our only way out.

''Lock them up,'' Goth commanded. ''But not in the dungeon. Take them to one of the empty rooms on the upper floors.''

''Yes,'' Voxzaco added, his odd glance brushing over me and my friends. ''These three are of the utmost importance for the ceremony.''

''Uh, may I ask why?'' But Chinook's question remained unanswered. Instead, he, Shade, and I were each grabbed by a Vampyrum and dragged away. I had no idea what to expect later, but I guessed it was nothing good. Especially judging by the look the Vampyrum called Erebos was giving me.

* * *

The sun had just set on the horizon as Marina was gently shaken awake by Ariel.

''Psst, get up. Frieda says it's time to leave.''

''Ok, ok. Just give me a second.'' Marina yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She had slept poorly. Concerns about Shade and her other friends kept her up most of the afternoon. She prayed to Nocturna, hoping that they were doing all right and that they would find them as soon. Then she quickly spit-washed her face and followed Ariel and the others out of the tree trunk.

''Well then'', began Frieda while the others gathered around her, "we shall set out on our ways. May Nocturna enlighten our paths.''

Together with Ariel, Frieda, and the others, Marina got airborne. Barely seconds after did she discover a big moving spot in the eastern sky. Owls were her immediate thought. But then she heard the telltale sound of bat wings, a creaking in the cold. It was a large group, perhaps a hundred, and they were flying straight toward the human building.

"Quickly," said Frieda, "we should warn them.''

When they came closer, a smile spread on the face of the elder. ''If my eyes do not deceive me, then that must be Achilles Greywing.''

Marina was stunned. Achilles Greywing was a name known to virtually every bat in the northern world, a great warrior who had fought in the last rebellion against the owls fifteen years ago. Despite the defeat of the bats, the bravery and stratagem of Achilles had become legendary, and there were hardly any young bats that had not fought battles in his name in their imagination.

''Frieda Silverwing'', said the majestic warrior. He looked old, even older than Frieda if that was possible. But his wing beats were still secure and powerful. He had ash-grey fur, dark grey wings, silver-grey hair, and a dark grey mane with stripes of silver in it. His muzzle was bordered by a thick silver beard.

''Achilles,'' said Frieda, ''it is a great pleasure to see you again. And a great relief.''

"The relief is all mine,'' the Greywing replied. ''How come you are so far from your Hibernaculum at this time?''

''It's a long story. Though I could ask you the same, old friend.''

''The reason is the owls. This winter they attacked and murdered several colonies on their journey to their winter roost without justification. This'', he nodded to the bats around him, ''are some of the survivors I have collected.''

Marina looked up at the bunch of bats and gasped briefly as she caught sight of a familiar face among them. "Penelope?''

Hearing her name, Penelope looked around in confusion until her eyes locked onto Marina's. A smile spread on her face she flew closer to the other Brightwing. Together they circled each other in narrow airy greeting rounds.

''It's so great to see you again'', Marina beamed. ''But what are you doing here? What's with the other banded bats? Don't tell me the owls have caught you.''

Penelope shook her head. ''The others are fine. We managed to find the white kermode bear Ursa and she helped us find a safe winter roost.''

''That's great. But still, I don't understand why you are not there then.''

''I and a few decided to go looking for you, Shade and Vanessa'', Penelope said, ''We wanted to help you and make sure you and Shade's colony are safe from the owls. We owe it to you after you have helped us.'' Marina was speechless and could only smile thankfully at her friend.

In the meantime Achilles turned back to Frieda. "Where are you heading?''

''Some of us wanted to return to Hibernaculum while the rest of us are on our way south for a rescue mission.''

''Rescue mission?'' Achilles frowned with concern. ''What happened?''

In short sentences, Frieda told the general and the other bats, with Marina's help, about their search for Cassiel and the events in the human building.

''In that case, you should accompany us,'' he said. ''We're on our way south to Bridge City, possibly our last refuge. And the sky is currently too dangerous to fly in small groups. Owl patrols are everywhere. Just recently we had to suffer the loss of fifteen bats in a skirmish with them.''

Frieda nodded in agreement, but before they could fly on a snow-white bear emerged unexpectedly between the trees. The bats were frightened at first and fluttered wildly in confusion. But Marina quickly recognized who it was. ''Ursa!'' Delighted she fluttered towards the white black bear. Her grim look wandered over the flock and then brightened as soon as she spotted the Brightwing.

Upon hearing the name the bats calmed down again. Apparently, word had already gotten around about the helpful leader of the beasts.

''Looks like I manage to find you after all'', she said noticing the Silverwings behind Marina.

''You were looking for us'', she asked.

Ursa nodded. ''Yes, but I didn't come alone. She bent down a little lower on her front legs and thus gave a view of an exhausted looking Silverwing on her back.

''Mercury!''

Icarus instantly fluttered over to Ursa and landed on her back beside his mate. "What happened?" he asked with concern.

''Don't worry'', Mercury said with a weak smile, sounding tired. ''I'm just a little...exhausted that's all.''

''Mercury, please tell us. Is there anything wrong at Hibernaculum?'' Frieda asked him.

The male needed a few moments before he could answer. ''General Brutus... He and his owls... They have invaded Hibernaculum.''

Marina's eyes widened. Outraged and frightened murmurs broke out among the other bats. Frieda herself looked as if she had received a blow to the chest. But her state of shock didn't last long. During the short time she knew her, Marina had never seen the Silverwing elder angry. But now her eyes were burning with rage.''

''How dare they,'' hissed Achilles. Equally shocked at the news. ''Haven't they done enough already by blocking the night sky for us. Do they have to attack us in our winter roost now as well? There hasn't been such an atrocity in millions of years.''

Marina looked into the disappointed faces of Windslang and the others who had hoped to return to Hibernaculum.

''How did Brutus find you?'' Frieda asked, trying to keep her voice quiet.

"It was Bathsheba. She betrayed us and led the owls straight to us.''

''What?''

Marina shook her head as if she couldn't believe what she just heard. She had already guessed that this old bat was up to something. She had been the only one who was absolutely against her, Shade, Orestes, and Vanessa staying with the colony and wanted to hand them over to the owls. But that she would go so far as to betray her own colony was something Marine never thought of her doing.

''It gets worse,'' Mercury continued. "As long as the colony... accepts Bathsheba as their new leader... they are safe, at least. But the other elders were locked away with me. Hibernation is impossible in this cell and the owls won't give us enough food.''

''Why did they do that?'' Icarus asked.

''They wanted us to reveal the whereabouts of Frieda, Shade, and the other ''traitors'' as Brutus described them. It was pure luck that I managed to escape.''

''And I'm more than happy about that.'' Icarus pushed his nose into his lover's fur and let himself get wrapped up in his wings, purring softly.

''We will fly back immediately and free them'', Frieda said determinedly. But Achilles shook his head. ''There is nothing we can do. The Owls' division will be too strong for us there.''

''That's right,'' Mercury said, still holding his mate. ''They also have the wolves on their side, guarding the captive elders.''

''We can't just abandon them,'' cried Ariel.

''I agree,'' said Frieda, whereupon Achilles shook his head once more.

''If you go back to them they will lose their elder without you helping them. We must go south. In Bridge City, we will meet with other colonies and gather our strength. If there is a battle, and I am sure there will be, it will definitely take place there.''

The Silverwing elder hesitated for a moment but then she nodded. ''Alright. We shall leave at once.''

''In the meantime, I will seek allies and try to do something about these wolves,'' Ursa offered.

''Thank you,'' smiled Frieda.'' My colony and I greatly appreciate your help.''

''Now, let's go. There's no time to lose.'' Mercury wanted to take off but Icarus held him back.

''Wait! Are you sure you're fit enough to travel?'' he asked.

''As I said, I'm fine, Icarus. I just haven't been eaten enough for a few nights, that's all.''

''If you say so.''

Mercury smiled and gently nuzzled his mate. Then he looked around as if looking for someone. ''Say, where is Vanessa?''

Icarus sighed and looked at Marina who then told him and Ursa about what happened in the human building as well and how they put Shade and many other bats into flying machines to be brought south. She didn't mention that it was Throbb who had helped Vanessa to get on board too. She didn't want to worry them any further knowing that a cannibal bat was near her adoptive daughter. Instead, she changed this part of her story a little. However, this didn't mean that Mercury and Icarus were any less concerned.

''We should leave now,'' said Achilles. "It's going to be a long flight and a very dangerous one as well.''

And so the bats said goodbye to Ursa and headed south to Bridge City.

* * *

Unsuspected by all, Atlas and three other owls, had heard everything while being well hidden in the foliage. With a grim look, he watched the bats flutter away while Ursa trotted in the opposite direction. Then he gave his men a sign and returned with them to Hibernaculum to give his report to General Brutus.


	12. Coronation Celebration

''Guys, we need to get out of here.''

Shade was right. Who knew what the Vampyrum were planning to do with us during Goth's coronation ceremony? Judging from our experience with these bats, it probably was not good. At least not for us.

''H-how come they have not eaten us already?" asked Chinook, fidgeting with his thumb claws. ''I thought you said they were cannibals?''

''They are,'' I replied. ''But it seems they want us alive for something.''

''Any idea what that might be?''

''No.''

''Who cares what they want from us,'' Shade said. He examined the large stone that the Vampyrum guards used to contain us. He wondered if there were any gaps we could slip through. But so far, we were not having any luck. The same went for the rest of the chamber, which was a small rectangular room. Kind of like my room at home with my parents. There was no furniture or windows. Everything was covered in moss and ferns that grew on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling.

I estimated that we had been in here for about three to four hours. During that time, Shade, Chinook, and I had tried to find a way out. With moderate success. There was simply no way to tunnel out through all the green stuff. Besides, Shade and Chinook were visibly bothered by their wounds. The tears on their bellies were no longer bleeding but were red and swollen. They needed to be treated as soon as possible. But first, we had to escape.

Although the three of us were dead tired from all the exertion, we could hardly sleep. If anything, at least I was only dozing off for a few minutes.

With a frustrated snort, Shade turned away from the blocked entrance and fluttered back to us, against the opposite wall. He winced as he roosted upside down and crossed his wings.

''It's hopeless,'', he said. ''I have checked this ''door'' over and over again. But there are no cracks or holes big enough for us to fit through. Not even for me.''

''Even if there was a way out. There are Vampyrum guards outside.''

Shade sighed.

''Maybe we should have flown with Orestes?" said Chinook, but I shook my head.

''That would not have changed our situation.''

''Yes, of course, it would have. Because then we'd be out looking for survivors, for my parents, my uncle, and we would not be stuck here in a place full of cannibals.''

''Let's not argue,'' Shade said. ''We should be glad they did not get Orestes too. Maybe he can find some help and get us out of here?''

''You do realize that Orestes has no idea where we are, right?! And by the time he gets that information, we are most likely about to be digested in the stomach of a cannibal bat.''

Chinook swallowed, not liking that thought at all.

''I am just trying to be positive here,'' Shade protested. I was about to say something when a noise at the entrance caught my attention. All three of us turned our gazes to the large stone. At first, it slightly wobbled, then it was pushed aside by two strong Vampyrum Spectrum guards. When the entrance was wide enough, three more Vampyrum came inside. One of them walked straight up to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me with him. ''Hey, what gives?'' I protested, but I got no explanation. My friends tried to help me, but the other two cannibal bats held them back.

Despite my resistance, I got dragged outside the pyramid over to a small lake. There we were awaited by two female Vampyrum. One of them looked at me disapprovingly from top to bottom, with her bright silver-blue eyes, and shook her head. ''No, no, eso no es suficiente (No, no, that's not good enough),'' she said.

I wondered what she was talking about, but instead of explaining anything, she started pulling at my grass skirt. Protesting, I tried to jump out of the way, but her colleague came to her aid. Together they stripped me out of my self-made clothes until I stood there, naked like a newborn. Never in my life had I been more embarrassed like at that moment. Then they pushed me into the water and mercilessly scrubbed my body from top to bottom with sponge-like objects. It hurt as they cleaned my wounded shoulders, but there was no use to protest. I knew I needed a bath since the last time I cleaned myself was back at the military research center. But was it really necessary to scrub the skin of my body? Why were they even doing this? Eventually, they finished their torture and threw a leaf at me to dry myself up.

My whole body hurt, and I was still confused about why they were doing this to me. Then there came another Vampryum, carrying a bundle of colorful cloths and two bowls in his arms. One filled with red liquid, the other filled with blue.

Wondering what they wanted to do with that stuff, I watched the females rummaging through the fabrics. After a few seconds, they seemed to have found what they were looking for and threw a gold-colored piece into my arms with a dark reddish-brown border and black spiral ornaments.

''Put this one,'' ordered the blue-eyed one.

I did as I was told, but the fabric was not big enough to cover my entire body. I could only wrap it around my hips like a skirt.

''Eh, do you have something for my upper body as well?" I asked cautiously. ''This one seems a bit short.''

''It's enough,'' the other one replied, tossing me a red scarf to wrap around my hips to keep the skirt in place.

''What do you mean it's enough?'' I asked. ''I am still half-naked.'' Both females looked at me uncomprehendingly. ''Your private parts are covered. So what are you whining about?''

I would have liked to tell them that my breasts were part of my private parts, but they seemed uninterested in listening to me. Instead, they now took the two bowls and smeared the contents on my face, neck, and decolletage. I forced myself to stay still and waited impatiently for them to finish whatever they were doing. Minutes later, they put the bowls back down, and I looked down at myself to see that my chest was covered in blue paint, edged with red dots. And on both my arms ran a thick red stripe down my shoulders to the backs of my hands. But that wasn't all.

Looking at my reflection in the water. I could see that they had painted my face with red and blue stripes as well.

''What's all this about?'' I asked.

''Order of the king. You and the two Northerners are to be properly prepared for the coronation ceremony.''

''Huh?'' That didn't explain anything. What was that supposed to mean? ''Prepared for the coronation ceremony.'' Weren't we prisoners? Why on earth would Goth want Shade, Chinook, and me to participate at his coronation? Otherwise, he hadn't had us thrown into the dungeon before either. Besides, didn't that Voxaco guy say that my friends and I would be crucial for the festivities? Honestly, I still didn't feel good thinking about it, but what was the point of the body painting?

Well, I would figure it out soon enough, I thought to myself and reached for the fabrics on the floor. Under no circumstances would I walk around here bare-chested. Unfortunately, one of the females took them away before I could even grab a single one. Then I was once again grabbed and carried back inside the pyramid. I tried my best to cover my breasts with my arms, not wanting anyone to see me half-naked. However, the bats did not seem to care much about my body, and for that, I was grateful. After all, they were animals, not humans. But still, I couldn't help to feel awkward.

They brought me back to the royal chamber at the top of the pyramid, where I reunited with Shade and Chinook. Both had their fur cleaned and the same red and blue markings on their bodies as me. Only their chest areas were free of paint, unlike mine. Maybe the paint didn't stick to the fur of their manes or something.

''Vanessa, you are alright.'' Happy to see me, they rushed to my side. I smiled, feeling glad to see them too, then looked around to see the chamber decorated with flowers and paint. Mostly red and blue like the colors they put on me and my friends. They had used it to paint various symbols on the walls and floor I had never seen before, as well as to emphasize others that had already been there. But even these Hieroglyphs were mysterious to me. Except for a few, which I found several times in the room. A double-headed jaguar, a feathered snake, and a pair of eyes with no pupils. I gulped. Although these eyes were without sight and only carved into the stone, I nonetheless felt being watched. On impulse, I wrapped my arms tighter around my naked chest.

''Do you have any idea what this is all about?'' Chinook asked, referring to both the decorations and our makeup.''

''Beats me'', I admitted with a shrug and glanced more around. As expected, we weren't alone. Several Vampyrum Spectrum were flying around or kept watch at every possible exit. Getting out of here unnoticed would certainly not be easy.

''Say, why are you holding your arms against your chest the whole time?'' Chinooks suddenly asked me. ''Are you cold?''

''Huh? What? No. I...'' I was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps, and Phoenix came over to us.

''Now, how are our three guests of honor? Are you excited for the ceremony to begin?'' Her black teeth briefly flashed as she twisted them into a grin. There was something about her that made me feel more uncomfortable than being with Goth. Her brother was no different. Though, I couldn't see him anywhere.

''Anyway, I wish you a good time. Although, I'm afraid you won't see much of the festivities.'' And with that, she walked off again, snickering over a joke, only she understood.

''What did she mean by that?" Chinook asked quietly. His eyes widened in concern.

''I don't know,'' I whispered back, not wishing to find out.

''We have to get out of here. And we have to do it fast. Whatever they planned for us is certainly not good.''

Shade was right. But how the hell were we supposed to get past all those guards? But it seemed he had an idea. ''Maybe I can distract them with one of my echo projections?'' he said.

Chinook was not convinced ''And you think that will work?''

''It's worth a try.''

''But the question is how you're going to do it without being noticed. Look!'' I nodded over to a huge, circular stone in the middle of the room. There were Voxzaco and some members of the royal family. The old bat was engaged in conversation with Alkaios while Goth stood by, occasionally glancing over at us. He knew about Shade's abilities. It would not be easy to trick him as well, as we did once before. Nevertheless, I would have felt much better if there was something I could use to cover my chest. Unfortunately, there was nothing. At least not in my reach and did not dare to move away from where I stood. Neither did Shade or Chinook. Hence, we had no choice but to wait and see what would happen next.

Time passed, until the moon was shining high in the sky, its rays pouring through the open ceiling into the chamber. Gradually, the busyness around us diminished, and the Vampyrum became quiet and spread around the sacred stone in a respectful distance, where Voxzaco now stood on his own. His face was decorated with color as well, but different from my friends and mine. He briefly cleared his throat and then tapped the stone with his stick a few times so that everyone would be quiet.

''Everyone,'' he began with a fragile yet loud voice, ''in the last few months, we have had to endure a lot of suffering. The humans are penetrating deeper into the jungle through their rage for destruction. They destroy our home and chase away our prey. And on top of that, they also took our beloved king away from us.'' Consenting murmurs rose among those present. ''But now let us no longer despair. For the great Cama Zotz has heard our prayers. He has brought back to us our princes who we believed to be lost forever.'' He looked over to where Goth and Throbb roosted with their family members, and the bats' voices rose momentarily as the room swelled with their cheers and shouts of welcome. Throbb seemed a little abashed by all the commotion, but Goth was undoubtedly enjoying all the attention. Then Voxzaco knocked his stick on the stone once again, and everyone calmed down.

''We want to thank Zotz for what he has done for us, but that's not all,'' he said. ''King Deimos may no longer be with us, but now that his son has returned, he shall take his place as our rightful ruler.'' Voxzaco looked back to the royal family and signaled Goth to come down to him. With majestic grace, he swooped down from his resting place onto the sacred stone.

''Prince Goth, do you solemnly swear to rule your people and your kingdom according to the ancient laws and customs?''

''I do,'' Goth replied.

''And will you do all that is in your power to bring about justice and righteousness, and to stand by your people in all time, be it good or bad?''

''That I will do, so help me Zotz!''

With interest, my friends and I watched the ceremony as Phoenix stepped up, holding a small bowl in her hands.

Close by, I overheard a couple whispering about her performance. Apparently, it was uncommon that strangers were directly involved in such an event. However, I couldn't understand exactly what they were saying, because they were speaking to each other in Spanish and quickly got silenced by a grim-looking Vampyrum.

Meanwhile, Phoenix shortly curtsied before Goth and then handed the bowl to Voxzaco. He dipped his fingers into it and then smeared Goth's face with black paint. But that was not all. Now another bat approached with a second bowl. I followed the ceremony intently that I didn't even notice how his gaze turned in my direction, making me feel quite uncomfortable all of a sudden.

''Guys, what's happening now?'' Chinook moved closer to Shade and me, but unfortunately, none of us had an answer to his question.

Then we were grabbed by the arms and carried up to the holy stone. There we were set down but still held tightly. But at least in a way that enabled me to cover my breasts with my hands.

Voxzaco's lips twisted into a mischievous grin. Then he gestured to the one holding me to step closer. Although I knew it was useless, I tried to resist. But no use. Behind me, I heard Chinook calling my name, while Shade remained silent. Next, I was standing right in front of Phoenix, Voxzaco, and Goth. My cheeks burned with shame as the latter peered at me from top to bottom. I wished I was given a shirt or something.

Again Voxzaco raised his voice to the gathered crowd.''Now it is time to give thanks to our God for the return of the princes. And that he will bless the reign of our new king.''

On cue, the grip around my arms tightened while the priest kept talking.

''May the great Cama Zotz accept these three sacrifices for this purpose.''

Hold it! What sacrifices?

With horror, I looked Goth in the face, who was grinning at me with cold satisfaction.

 _''This isn't happening right now,''_ I thought. But slowly I realized why Shade, Chinook, and I were so important for the ceremony and why we were styled like this. We were supposed to die. But not in a simple way. No. We had the honor of being ritually murdered.

''Your Highness, whose heart do you wish to be presented to our lord as a gift for a blessed reign?''

Goth's gaze wandered back and forth between me and Shade until it lingered on me. ''Hers,'' he said, and the devilish grin on his face grew wider. I shook my head and once again tried to free myself from the other cannibal's grip. Then another one joined in, and both tore my arms apart, holding them tightly. Despite my fear, I felt ashamed that now everyone had a clear view of my bare chest.

Caught in the cannibals' iron grasp, I watched as the old high priest stepped toward me with his sharp claws drawn. I felt my heart beating violently in my chest as if trying to escape. Tears burned in my eyes, and my throat tightened. Eventually, Voxzaco raised his claws, ready to strike them into my flesh.

''Wait!''

With a mixture of annoyance and confusion, the old bat turned to Goth. ''What is it, your highness?" he asked.

''I want to make this sacrifice myself.''

Voxzaco was shocked, his face contorted while Phoenix blinking at him curiously, and surprised murmurs spread among the crowd.

''What are you talking about? Only the high priest is allowed to do the rituals. Do you want to anger Cama Zotz with your foolishness?''

''Not at all,'' Goth growled. ''But I have spoken with our God. He has chosen me to be his servant, made me king, and healed my wings. Therefore, I will perform the sacrifice.''

The old priest seemed anything but enthusiastic with this. Nevertheless, he nodded and reluctantly stepped aside. I didn't need to look into Goth's eyes to know the true reason behind his decision. Revenge!

Without another word, Goth walked up to me. A vicious gleam in his eyes. All fell silent as he raised his claws to put an end to my life. But then we heard a loud hissing sound above us. Confused, Goth stopped in his tracks and looked up. So did I and the others. To our great surprise, a huge jaguar was crouching at the edge of the roof. ''Where did that come from?'' I wondered, but before anyone could do anything, the cat jumped into the chamber, teeth bared. Panic broke out. Parents called for their children. Others looked for their mates. They all screamed and fluttered around blindly while the feline predator made its way through the crowd, leaping over the walls, terrifying everyone.

''¡Cálmate!(Calm down!)" Goth commanded. ''There's no need to panic. Go back to your roosts.'' But no one listened. Even the two cannibals who were supposed to be holding me had runoff.

Unsure what to do, I remained where I was. A stupid idea. I knew that, but I had no idea where to go. Suddenly someone grabbed me by the wrist, causing me to spin around, thinking it was a Vampyrum, but it was only Chinook. His and Shade's guards had also disappeared in the commotion.

''Come on, we have to go,'' he urged me.

''But what about...?''

''Don't worry, Shade has everything under control. Now come.'' Without giving me time to reply, Chinook got airborne, grabbed my hands, and fled with me out through the opening in the roof. Shade already waiting for us there.

''Quick now,'' he said. ''We have to get out of here before they realize what's going on.''

At first, I didn't understand what he meant. But then I got it. The jaguar! It wasn't real. It was just one of Shade's famous echo tricks, which literally saved our butts. What luck. Although, we weren't safe yet. Best we put several miles between us and the Mayan pyramid. And that before Goth realized that we were gone.

* * *

Shortly after the friends had fled, the image of the so-called jaguar disappeared into thin air. Gradually, the Vampyrum Spectrum bats regained their composure, only to wonder what just happened.

Goth returned to the sacred stone and inspected the devastation caused by the chaos. The painted symbols on the walls were smudged, and torn and tattered parts of the plant decorations lay all over the place. Fortunately, no one seemed seriously injured, but Goth was seething with anger at this interruption.

''There you have it, your highness,'' Voxzaco spat contemptuously. ''That jaguar was a sign from Zotz. It was not in your right to perform the sacrifice.''

Goth turned to him with glittering eyes. ''That jaguar was not a sign from Zotz,'' he growled. ''That was just an illusion. A sneaky trick from that runt Shade.''

Voxzaco wasn't convinced. But Goth knew the truth. Speaking of Shade... Where were he and his two friends, anyway? Just then, one of the guards who had been holding Vanessa earlier stepped up to him. ''Su majestad (your majesty),'' he said and bowed deeply. ''I am sorry, but the prisoners have escaped.''

''How could this happen,'' Voxzaco demanded to know.

''Well,'' the guard hesitated. ''There was this jaguar and...''

''And you let them go?''

''B-but no. I-I mean...not on purpose...'' Goth looked at him in a way that didn't please the guard at all. Preferably, he would have flown off immediately, but he didn't dare to leave without an official instruction.

''So you allowed yourselves to be fooled by such a pathetic trick.''

''Well,...''

Goth huffed and turned away from him to raise his voice to everyone in the room. ''Listen up! I demand that those who have escaped being searched and brought back immediately. No matter their condition, just make sure they're alive.'' Several Vampyrum obeyed his command and headed out right away.

''Your Highness,'' Voxzaco said. ''These northerners can wait. We must finish your coronation ceremony. Otherwise, you are not our rightful king.''

''A sacrifice is the only thing missing, right?''

Voxzaco nodded, but before he could say anything else, Goth quickly drilled his claws into the guard's chest, who was still standing beside them. Before he knew what was happening, Goth had his beating heart in his hand and he collapsed to the ground, dead.

''Here!'' Goth handed Voxzaco the bleeding organ, ''Take this blood for the rest of the ceremony so that we can finally get it over with.'' 

Voxzaco blinked shortly in surprise but then let the heart's blood drip into an empty bowl. ''Let's hope that Zotz will accept this offering,'' he said and then told Goth to follow him. Together they left the royal chamber and flew deep down into the pyramid's catacombs. There, Voxzaco led him through a crevice into a hidden chamber that had long ago been filled in by a landslide. It was completely empty but mostly free of dirt and cobwebs since the high priest had made it his business to check down here regularly. For this was a special place. However, Goth did not know much about it. Only that here was the list of all kings and queens who reigned before and could trace their bloodline back to the very first king Ezekiel. It was located on the east side of the chamber. And several names had already been carved into the stone. Among them Goth's father Deimos and his grandfather Odysseus. All were written in a language that their ancestors had copied from the humans who had lived here before. Nowadays, only a few, apart from the high priests and the members of the royal family, still mastered it.

And now it was time for Goth to put his own name among them. He could hardly wait. Finally, he would be king and could use his power to seek revenge on the humans and the Northern Bats.

With awe, he approached the wall of the kings. At the top, below the ceiling, was Ezekiel's name. It is said that he was merely a rogue until one-day Zotz himself spoke to him and made him the very first king and high priest of his religion. Directly below were two names. Asher and Juan. Ezekiel's twin sons. Under Asher's name then ran a long list up to Goth's own father. Under Juan's name, however, ran a much shorter list, with the last name seemingly chiseled out of the stone. Goth wondered what that was about but decided to ask Voxzaco about it later.

The latter now stepped next to him, the bowl with the blood still in his hands. After Goth had scribbled his name under his father's, he dipped his hand into the bowl and then pressed it against the wall next to his name. Briefly, he regretted that it was not Vanessa's blood that was now seeping into the rock. But that didn't matter. Soon her blood and that of Shade Silverwing would be on his hands as he would tear out their hearts. That, he swore by the name of Zotz.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the royal chamber, the others had begun to clean up the mess. Satisfied, Goth watched his busy subjects and searched for his uncle, who was supervising the work. Just then, he heard someone call his name.

''King Goth. The guards are back, and they have a prisoner with them. A northern bat.''

 _''¡Excelente!''_ Goth thought and hoped it would be Shade. And at first, it looked like it. But when he looked more closely at the bat who brought to him, he was disappointed to see that it wasn't Shade. Instead, it was an older Silverwing with a scarred face and a silver ring on his forearm. And yet, he looked so much like that runt.

''Who are you?'' Goth demanded to know but received no answer. Therefore, one of the guards roughly poked the Silverwing in the side. ''The king asked you a question,'' he snapped at him.'' The stranger winced in pain and needed a moment to get back to his feet. The guard was about to strike again to make him talk, but Goth stopped him by raising his hand. Eventually, the Silverwing lifted his head and looked directly at Goth with his soft green eyes.

''My name ... is Cassiel.''


	13. Meeting the Bloodwings

Without stopping, Shade and Chinook flew with me deeper into the jungle. We wanted to put as much distance as possible between us and the pyramid. After a while, however, the two of them couldn't go on anymore and landed on the ground for a short rest.

''We shouldn't stay here. It's too dangerous,'' I protested, looking around in concern.

''We know,'' Shade said gasping. ''But here on the ground, they might not find us as quickly as they would if we kept flying.

''And I cannot move one wingbeat further,'' Chinook added, plopping backward into the grass.

I looked around uneasily. Above us was a dense web of leaves and ferns that would hopefully hide us from our pursuers and other attackers. But what did we do now? We were in the middle of a strange and highly dangerous place without help.

''We should go find Orestes,'' Shade decided, as if he had guessed what was going through my mind.

''That''s easy for you to say. But how are we going to do that? We have no idea where he is. Not to mention where we are.''

''I know but...''

''Wouldn't it be better if we got rid of this stuff first?'' said Chinook, sitting up and tapping his cheek. He was right. With this paint on our bodies, we looked like colorful parrots. Better we got rid of them as soon as possible.

''Come on,'' I said. ''Let's look for a stream or something similar.''

Together we set off again in search of water. Always on the lookout for possible predators. Personally, I was not only interested in getting clean again. I was also quite thirsty. It had been a while since I or my friends, had drunk anything, let alone eaten. Unfortunately, the Vampyrum had not been that hospitable. The term ''last meal'' was probably a foreign word for them. However, I would never have thought that Chinook would take our stay with the cannibal bats so easily. I always thought he was that kind of guy who likes to brag and then be the first to run off or freak out at any sign of danger.

Then suddenly, something rustled next to us in the bushes.

''What was that? '' I asked.

Alarmed, Shade and Chinook perked up their ears while I glanced around more carefully. Whatever it was, we couldn't see it, but I doubt it was gone.

''D-do you think it's one of those vampyrum?'' Chinook asked.

I didn't even want to think about that. But whatever it was, it was very close.

''I'll check it out,'' Cautiously, Shade crept over to the spot where the rustling seemed to be coming from.

''Shade don't," I hissed after him. But he had already approached the bushes and reached out for one of the fern fronds. Tentatively, he bent it back, and at the same moment, something leaped past him and right at Chinook.

''AAAAAAHH!''

The thing had clawed itself to his face and refused to let go of him no matter what.  
Filled with panic, Chinook tried to pull it off of him while screaming and stumbling around.

''Chinook, wait!''

''Hold still!''

Shade and I tried our best to help him, but he was fidgeting too much and most likely waking up the entire jungle. Eventually, I did the next best thing I could think of. I took the red scarf from my hips, wrapped it around a few times, and then hit the panicking Silverwing directly in the face with it. Immediately the creature let go of him and rushed back into the undergrowth before we could get a closer look at it.

''Uh, now that was something,'' Shade said, looking after the strange creature in amazement.

''You can say that again,'' I replied and wrapped the scarf around my hips again, not wanting my skirt to slip off. It was enough that I was running around half-naked. It didn't need to be completely nude.

''Okay, guys, that's it!'' Caught by surprise, I turned to Chinook, whose cheeks were glowing with anger. ''First, the humans sew these bombs to our bellies and use us as weapons to destroy their own stuff, then we end up with bats that want to kill us with their weird rituals, and now we're getting attacked by everything. I've had it! I want to go home.''

''You're not the only one,'' Shade tried to reassure him, ''but if you keep making such a ruckus here, we'll be discovered and...''

''This is all your fault! We could be back in the forest, but you kept whining and saying he's no good, and ... and ... you made the humans mad. And look where it has brought us! We are in this strange forest all by ourselves. We don't know where to go, and we might not even stay alive until the next day. ''

In his panic, he was talking nonsense. If he kept this on, he might as well just shout: "Hello, carnivorous bats, here we are!'' To shut him up, I did the next best thing and slapped him right across in the face. Not too hard, but hard enough to silence him. Anger flashed in his eyes, and I briefly wondered if that had been a mistake. But at least he was quiet now.

''Get a grip on yourself,'' I scolded him. ''Yelling like crazy doesn't help us at all. It will only attract a Vampyrum or a different predator to us, and then we really won't be living to see the next day. In that case, we could have just stayed in the pyramid.''

''B-but...''

''No buts! From now on, we'll all be quiet as mice and not make a sound. Is that clear?'' Chinook just nodded while I emphatically tapped him in the chest. ''Then let's move on.''

We hadn't even moved a step when I heard a startled whimper from Chinook.

''What is it now?" I asked, turning to him in annoyance.

The Silverwing trembled slightly and dared not to move much. ''I think there's something on my back,'' he whispered. ''It feels like a spider. A really big one.''

''Oh, come on. It's probably just a leaf. Turn around!''

Chinook did as he was told, and on his back was indeed a fat, hairy spider.

''Uh... '' With a quick flick of my wrist, I knocked the creepy-crawly off his back. ''Yep, like I said. Just a leaf.'' Shade wanted to say something, but I quickly gave him a significant look to make him close his mouth again. Shortly after, we continued walking. It was not so easy for the two bats since their bodies were not designed for walking. But for the time being, they did not dare to rise back up into the air.

With a sigh, Chinook gazed around at the surroundings. ''We'll never make it home.''

''Of course we will,'' Shade replied.

''He's right. All we have to do is reach the edge of the jungle. There we'll probably find Orestes. I'm sure he's already found a few more survivors. Including your parents. And they' II be waiting for us there.''

''You sure?" he asked skeptically.

''Certainly. This jungle is no different than any other forest. We'll find our way out of here.''

''Alright,'' Filled with fresh confidence, Chinook straightened his chest and strode past Shade and me towards the front to take the lead.

''Be honest,'' Shade whispered as soon as Chinook was out of earshot. ''How good are our chances really?''

I stopped in my tracks and looked him straight in the face.

'' Awful. We couldn't be doing any worse. Or to put it short: We're as good as dead.''

''If you continue making such a racket, then for sure.''

Startled, I threw my head around and spotted a reddish-brown bat hovering in the air just a few inches above us. With a cold shock of relief, I realized that it was not a Vampyrum, but not a northern bat either. It was a young adult male, maybe a year older than Shade and Chinook, with big triangular ears, wine-red wings, short black hair, and light brown eyes. He had no mane like Shade or Chinook, but his belly fur was much lighter than the rest of his body. Furthermore, he had the longest incisors I had ever seen on a bat.

''Well, you are a strange bunch,'' he said, grinning at us cheekily. ''You're not from around here, are you?" That wasn't a question, rather a statement. But neither of us managed to utter a single word.

''What's wrong? Never seen a vampire bat before?" He laughed.

 _''A Vampire?!''_ I thought. _''No wonder he has such pointy teeth.''_

''Who are you?'' Shade demanded to know and stood protectively in front of me while Chinook walked back to us, having noticed the stranger as well. The latter landed on the ground and crossed his wings before his chest. His grin not leaving his face.

''No need to get so hostile, shorty. The name's Tick and you guys are?''

 _''A vampire bat named Tick? How fitting,''_ I thought and soothingly put a hand on Shade's shoulder, who angrily glowered at Tick. Unhappy to be called small once again.

''My name is Vanessa, and these are my friends' Shade and Chinook,'' I introduced us to him.

''Nice to meet you,'' he says, then took a closer look at me. ''Say, you don't look like a bat. What kind of animal are you?''

''Uh, I'm a human?''

His eyes widen in surprise. ''A human. But aren't those usually much bigger? How come you are so tiny?''

''That's a long story,'' And one I did not want to tell now. I was getting tired of walking around with my hands covering my breasts. Plus, I wanted to get rid of the paint on my skin.

''Wait, those paintings on you... You are from the pyramid, aren't you? The place where the Vampyrum Spectrum live.'' My friends and I looked at each other, unsure what to tell him.

''What about it?'' Shade asked, but instead of answering him, Tick just circled around us, looking quite curious.

''Those are sacrificial markings. And they look brand new.''

''Well, they drew them on us just a few hours ago.''

''For what occasion?'' he asked.

''The coronation of their new king.''

''So Alkaios has finally decided to take his brother's throne? About time if you ask me. Normally, they don't wait so long to appoint a new king. And King Deimos has been dead for five days already.''

''Uh, actually the new king is his son Goth.''

Now Tick looked even more surprised. ''Goth has returned?''

I nodded. ''And his cousin Throbb too.''

''Well, talking about surprises,'' he said.

''Why?'' Shade asked distrustfully ''Are you friends with them?''

''The Vampyrum? You must be joking shorty.'' He laughed, but it wasn't a hearty laugh. Rather a nervous one. ''Nobody who got their wits all together approaches their roost beyond ten miles. I mean, we Bloodwings have a bad reputation too because of our diet, but the Vampyrum are awful for sure.'' He rubbed his temple, letting out a sigh. ''And of all bats, they now have Goth as their new king. Well, good night then.''

''You don't seem happy about this,'' I said.

''Of course not. Have you met this guy?''

Shade and I looked at each other.

''To be honest, yes. We had the pleasure of meeting him and Throbb in the north.''

''And you are still alive?'' Tick was impressed. ''How come?''

''It's a long story as well and kinda combined with the story on how I became so small,'' I explained to him. ''Unfortunately, I don't think we have the time to stand around here and chat.

You can probably guess that we three are on the run right now. And we're not exactly planning to get recaptured by the cannibal bats.

Tick nodded understandingly. ''They definitely won't have anything nice planned for you.'' He then thought for a moment, looking a bit around. ''You know what, you guys should come with me to my colony. There you will be safe for a while.''

I looked questioningly at Shade and Chinook. Should we accept his offer? He was friendly and didn't seem to have bad intentions. ''What do you think, guys?''

Shade was skeptical ''Well, I don't know. Do you think we can trust him ?''

''I'm not sure. But we can't wander around helplessly all the time either.''

''True,'' Chinook agreed. ''Besides, we don't have much of a choice, do we?''

Shade sighed. ''Alright. We'll fly with him but stay alert.''

Chinook and I nodded, then we told Tick that we would be happy to accompany him to his colony. Pleased about this, he immediately got airborne and urged us to follow him. We hesitated for a moment and then flew after him through the jungle.

* * *

On the way, Tick asked us all kinds of questions. Where did we come from? What brought us to the jungle? And how did we manage to escape the Vampyrum?

Roughly, we told him about our search for Shade's father Cassiel, the research center, and the bombs that the humans sewed on bats and owls to use as weapons of destruction for their selfish purposes.

''So that's the origin of the firestorms.'' Tick gazed ahead thoughtfully, and for a while, he didn't ask us any more questions. Once again, I felt guilty for what my kind was doing to the bats. Although vampire bats, like him, were not abused as bombs, their habitat and that of many other species were being destroyed.

Just before dawn, we finally reached a high rocky ridge, seemingly jutting out of the forest. The peak shrouded in a veil of dense fog. I assumed that Tick would pilot us over it. But instead, he flew directly toward the rocks and through a narrow crevice into the interior. I had to lift my legs and make myself very small so that Shade could fit through with me as well. Next, we went through a short tunnel and then exited the mountain into a small valley. There, well hidden between the mountains and trees, was a small clearing. Through it flowed a narrow river that emerged as a thin waterfall from the rock face of the mountain. Right next to the river stood the old moss-covered ruins of a weathered temple. Above its entrance grew a massive tree, its roots apparently growing through the rock. And from its branches dangled vines like natural hammocks.

''There we are friends,'' Tick said proudly. ''My colony lives in that temple over there.''

''You guys live in a human building too?" Chinook asked.

''Well, sure. But humans stopped living there a long time ago. Besides, it's as good as any other cave.''

Outside the entrance, Tick asked us to wait for a moment. He wanted to tell his chief about us first. Understandable. We were strangers, after all. It was better to let the leader or leaders know about us first before letting us in. Similar to what Mercury had done when he first brought me to Tree-Heaven.

We were still not quite sure about the whole thing. Who knew what would happen to us in this colony of vampire bats or Bloodwings how they called themselves.

''Do you think they eat meat, too?" Chinook asked quietly.

''With those teeth, I wouldn't be surprised.''

I shook my head. ''No, they don't. They only eat blood.''

Both boys looked at me in shock. Chinook even turning pale. ''How is that any better?'' he asked.

''Guys, there is nothing to worry about. Vampire bats drink blood. Yes. But only from larger animals like horses or cows. Some even drink blood from birds. But they don't kill their prey. They just take a quick bite, drink a few drops, and that's it. You know, like a mosquito.''

Blinking, the two looked at me in amazement.

''I'm really beginning to wonder how you know all this,'' said Chinook.

''We humans have our ways to learn new things. But I can tell you more about that later.''

At that moment, Tick came back to us from the temple.

''Alright, Chief Umber is ready to see you guys now,'' he said and motioned us to come with him.

With growing tension, we followed him into the temple ruins. Inside it was dark, but not so dark that I could not see my hands in front of my eyes. This surprised me a bit. Here and there were a few gaps in the rock so that moon or sunlight could shine through. But still, it shouldn't be possible for me to see anything. Did my eyes get so used to the darkness that I could now see in it like a bat? Nonsense! That was impossible. On the other hand, I had no other explanation. Nevertheless, it was beneficial.

The air was filled with whispers, and hundreds of curious eyes glanced at us from various angles. I tried to ignore them, but it still made me uncomfortable, especially since I had barely anything on. Fortunately, it didn't take long until we landed again, and I could cover my breasts with my hands.  
Now we stood there, on the steps of a half-ruined staircase, in some kind of hall. Presumably, this had once been the main room of the temple where the humans used to hold their ceremonies. At the thought of the last ceremony I attended, I felt a cold chill running down my spine.

For a brief moment, nothing happened. But then the whispers around us died away, and a bat appeared from the shadows above us. As expected, it was a Bloodwing like Tick. Except this one was much older with a wrinkled face and gray streaks in its hair. Its sand-colored eyes, however, gleamed with power and vigor. _''This must be their leader, Chief Umbra,''_ I guessed.

Silently, he looked at us for a moment, then he flew down and landed above us on the top of the stairs.

"So these are the three strangers you picked up Tick," he said in a deep, friendly voice. Strong muscles stood out under his dark brown fur. Like Tick, his belly had a slightly lighter color, and his wings were black. His face and body were marked with scars from old fights, and one of his ears looked like someone had taken a big bite out of it. Furthermore, he had shoulder-length dirty blond hair that seemed to be fused with the thick full beard on his muzzle.  
With great interest, Umber looked down on the three of us. His gaze lingering on me for the longest time. No wonder. He had probably never seen a human as small as a mouse before.

"Who are you strangers?" he finally asked, "And what brings you into our jungle?"

Shade, Chinook, and I took turns telling our story to Chief Umbra, Tick, and all the other vampire bats gathered around us. First, we began with our journey to the human building and our gruesome experiences there. By the mention of the bombs flared anger in the eyes of the Bloodwing leader, and outraged whispers arose in the crowd around us. With a wave of his hand, Umber silenced his colony and asked us to continue with our story. When we told him about Goth and his coronation ceremony, which we barely managed to escape from, he gasped in surprise. And after telling him that we had met Goth and his cousin Throbb in the north, he immediately wanted to know everything about it.

So I began to tell them my story. Starting with the night I found that mysterious blue pearl that miraculously shrunk me because of a wish I made. Then I went on and told them how I ended up with the Silverwings and about Shade and my forbidden look at the sun and the following devastating consequences. For clarification, Shade had to tell them more about this prohibition and its origin since apparently there was no such law in the jungle. Although, there were owls here as well. Afterward, we both explained how we got separated from the colony on our journey to Hibernaculum and met Marina Brghtwing and then, sometime later, the two princes.

Chief Umber and his colony listened attentively to our story. And as we came to the part where we had managed to trick Goth in the mines, he burst out laughing. Even Tick and the other Bloodwings couldn't help but snicker.

Finally, we reached the end of our story, and Chief Umber looked at us with amazement. ''I must say, I'm more than impressed by your courage and adroitness.''

Tick was also visibly astonished by our adventures. ''I can hardly believe that all this really happened,'' he said.

''Just believe it,'' I said with a smile. ''It's all true.''

Chief Umber stroke his beard, looking at us. ''If you hadn't recently escaped from a sacrificial rite, I would almost believe that Lord Cama Zotz himself had helped you.''

At the mention of that name, Shade, Chinook, and I looked with shock and surprise at the Bloodwing leader.

''You worship Zotz as well?" Shade asked.

''Of course. Almost all bats in the jungle worship him. But don't worry, our way of serving him is different from that of the Vampyrum Spectrum.''

''So you don't make bloody sacrifices?'' I asked cautiously.

''We do that,'' Umber replied, and my friends and I tensed up for a moment. ''But we don't sacrifice random creatures as the Vampyrum do. No. We sacrifice only volunteers among our own people at exceptional occasions.''

''Who would be nuts and volunteer for such a thing?" Chinook whispered in my ear, but Umber still heard him.

It may seem strange to you, my young friend. But would you not also want to give your own goddess whatever she asks of you? And what more precious gift can you offer to a deity than the gift of life?''

Chinook hesitated, unsure what to say in reply. But something had struck me. ''You know about Nocturna?''

He nodded. ''In the past, many knew about her as well as Zotz. Some bats, therefore, worshipped both gods. But that has changed, and nowadays, only a few still know about Zotz's sister.''

''Wait a sec!'' Shade interrupted him. ''Nocturna is Zotz's sister?''

''His twin sister, to be exact.''

Now that was a surprise. Not even I knew about this even though I had already heard a lot about the Mayan bat god. At the same time, I wondered how the knowledge of Nocturna disappeared among the bats of the south and why no one in the north knew about Cama Zotz.

All of a sudden, there was a loud rumbling sound, and everyone looked at Chinook, who was holding his stomach in embarrassment. ''Uh, sorry, but I'm starving here,'' he said.

There he wasn't the only one. My stomach also made me painfully aware that it was now more than time to fill it, and Shade was the hunger written in the face. Umber gave his Bloodwings a sign, and shortly after, a young female approached us, holding a bowl in her hands.  
''There you go,'' she said cheerfully. ''You are more than welcome to have a share of our food.'' She handed us the bowl. But when we took a peek inside, we somewhat lost our appetites. Chinook even turned so pale that I feared he would collapse. As I said, vampire bats feed on blood, and the bowl was full of it.

''Eh, that's too generous,'' Shade said, trying not to look into the bowl, ''But unfortunately, we don't eat ... well... this.'' He pointed at the substance, and disappointment flashed briefly on the young vampire bat's face. But Umber nodded understandingly and told her to bring us something else instead. A little later, she then came back with a bowl full of insects and larvae.

Immediately, Shade and Chinook started devouring the creepy-crawlies with grateful hunger. But I hesitated. I would have liked to say that I also do not feed on insects. But the little one had looked so upset when we refused her blood offering that I couldn't bring myself to disappoint her again. Therefore, I swallowed my disgust and reached in for a less nasty looking insect.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Shade giving me a puzzled look, but I ignored him and took a tentative bite. Surprisingly, it didn't taste that bad. Quite different from when I first tasted an insect which Mercury had brought me. Had my time with the Silverwings before our trip to Hibernaculum not been the only time I had eaten insects, I would have said that I must have gotten used to the taste by now. But I had been living on berries alone for all those weeks. Maybe I was just too hungry right now. Whatever the case was, I finished the insect and immediately took another.

After we finished our meal, we were taken to the river, where they helped us wash down the sacrificial marks on our skin and fur. Thankfully, I was separated from my friends and surrounded only by female Bloodwings, who shielded me from prying eyes. Afterward, they treated our wounds with homemade herbal mixtures and gave me a simple piece of brown cloth as a new skirt and, at my request second one to wrap around my chest like a poncho. To make sure it would hold, I knotted the overhanging ends together behind my back. It was now almost noon, and Tick led us to a sleeping place specially prepared for us. I was so tired from all the exertion that I immediately fell asleep as soon as my body laid down on the soft nest of grass and leaves.


End file.
